20-20: RWBY
by tideofglory
Summary: Hindsight is 20-20, so I wanted to see what RWBY would look like with some more hindsight put into the writing.
1. Ruby Rose

**Hindsight is 20-20, so I wanted to see what RWBY would look like with some more hindsight put into the writing. Basically this is how I would write RWBY differently knowing what missed opportunities or boneheaded decisions it's suffered from in the past.**

 **You may have noticed that certain scenes or parts of scenes have been completely omitted from the fic. This isn't because I think those scenes are unnecessary, I just don't think they need to be changed much, and most people should already know what happens in those scenes.**

 **Also if certain facts to do with timeline or world building contradict the canon timeline or world building, remind yourself what kind of fic this is, and assume that those contradictions are intentional. They won't be too major, just little things like Ruby's age when her mother died.**

 **An explanation of why I made the changes I did will follow the beginning of the next chapter.**

* * *

Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past.

Man was born into an unforgiving world. Creatures of destruction — the creatures of Grimm - set their sights on man from the moment of his creation, and so the Gods gave man four gifts to survive. Creation, Destruction, Knowledge, and Choice, were the tools that gave man the ability to survive and eventually flourish.

In time, man discovered additional means to even the odds, Aura, Semblance, and Dust. With these powers in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life.

But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone... darkness will return. So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called "free world", but take heed... there will be no victory in strength.

But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul.

* * *

Roman Torchwick approached the Dust Shop with his four men trailing behind. Well, Junior's men. Roman would have rather had Neo by his side rather than these… to call them bouncers would've been giving them too much credit. Roman would've even taken one of the Malachite twins over 10 of these mooks any day, but Junior had refused, and Neo was in Mistral running errands for his employer.

Roman shook off the concerns. All he needed was for these men to look intimidating and carry the dust for him. There shouldn't be any reason for the men to fight.

* * *

Ruby Rose. Was. Bored.

Her uncle was on a mission so training had grown stale, she'd already finished her homework from Signal, and even had Yang and her dad proofread it. Nobody wanted to spar with her, Crescent Rose didn't need any repairs or polishing, and there were no Grimm to fight in the area's she was allowed to explore around Patch. Even if there were, she was bored of Beowolves, or even the occasional Ursa.

Desperate for something to do, Ruby had wandered into Vale, and entered the only dust shop she knew to be open at this time, hoping to find some manner of inspiration for her weapon. Unfortunately, even that had yet to yield results, much to Ruby's frustration as she rifled through the last magazine the shop had.

Ruby was suddenly pulled from her thoughts when a hand seized her shoulder and forced her to face a man in red sunglasses.

"Yes?"

"I said, put your hands in the air, now!"

"Waaaiit, are you the ones who've been robbing all the dust stores lately?"

"Yes!"

"Ooohhh…"

Despite her cool demeanor, Ruby was screaming for joy on the inside.

The thug suddenly found himself flying across the store.

"You jerks are the reason I can barely afford a magazine of gravity dust!" the small girl griped with righteous fury.

The man who had gone flying rose to his feet and pulled his gun on the girl, but was too slow to stop her charge. He once again found himself airborne and flying out the window. This time his aura gave out and he stayed down, unconscious.

The girl soon found herself joined outside the shop by three more robbers. One rushed her as she unsheathed crescent rose, and soon found himself airborne, before the blunt end of the scythe brought him crashing back to the ground, shattering his aura.

Ruby fled a hale of gunfire. Normally she'd use the recoil of her gun to maneuver more easily, around the battlefield, but due to how expensive these thugs had made dust, she chose to conserve her munitions. Fortunately she had enough control to avoid the bullets while still closing the distance to her wide eyed opponents.

* * *

"You were worth every cent, truly you were."

Roman kicked himself for his carelessness as the aura broke on the last of his borrowed thugs. Of all the dust shops he could have robbed tonight, it had to be the one being attended by a huntress in training. If he had to guess the hooded girl was in her last year at Signal, though her youth suggested otherwise. "Can't believe there are kids that still sign on for that line of work" He mused internally.

Having attended Signal himself several years ago, before turning from the "noble path", Torchwick could easily deal with the girl, but the sound of sirens gave him pause.

"Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around... I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

He fired an explosive blast at the girl's feet, and then used his warp semblance to be at the rendezvous building and halfway up the ladder in an instant. As he rushed towards the edge of the building he heard the sound of a gunshot on the street below, and the sound of boots hitting the roof.

"HEY!"

Torchwick couldn't help but smirk and mutter "persistent" as the bullhead piloted by his employer arrived.

As the ship ascended, Roman decided to send the girl a parting gift in the form of a dust crystal.

"End of the line, Red!"

Ruby could barely register the dust crystal at her feet before hearing a shot fire at the object. The girl winced, bracing for the flames.

Looking up, the girl saw a blonde haired woman holding back the explosion. She briefly glanced at Ruby, then waved her wand, gently sending Ruby to cover behind one of the roofs skylights.

Ruby observed the ensuing battle, growing more and more excited at the power on display between the huntress and the enemy on the ship. Eager to help, Ruby broke her cover and began firing on the figure in the ship, only to have her blows somehow blocked.

Glynda looked at the girl in frustration, which grew as she saw the ground around her begin to burn. She quickly threw the girl aside, jumping back as she did. She looked back just in time to see the bullhead begin to retreat.

"You're a huntress!" Glynda looked in frustration at the oblivious child.

"Can I have your autograph?!"

* * *

"I had her Ozpin!" Glynda's ability to avoid raising her voice was remarkable given her clear anger. "I had the False Maiden, until that girl got in the way!"

She gestured through the one way mirror to the girl on the other side.

The figure in the back responded calmly "but had it not been for her we'd have never known that the False Maiden was linked to the Dust robberies."

"She still shouldn't have gotten involved! She's only 15! Still studying at Signal! She's not cleared for that kind of action! Or that weapon!"

"True" The man conceded "it seems that she's caused quite a few disturbances around Signal. Never anything this serious before, usually just a disregard for her own safety. She's been warned multiple times against hunting outside of areas designated for her clearance. And she apparently constructed that weapon as a side project with the promise never to use it."

"Well clearly those warnings fell on deaf ears! And you want to reward that behavior?!"

"She's bored, Glynda." Ozpin chuckled "She's clearly ahead of her class, and she needs an outlet."

Glynda looked at the child on the other side of the glass, and her eyes softened "It's true she's talented… But I doubt she's emotionally prepared for the life you plan for her."

"There's only one way to find out."

* * *

"Ruby Rose!"

Ruby looked up anxiously as the woman from earlier entered, trailed by a grey haired he approached he leaned in and looked directly into her eyes.

"You… have Silver Eyes."

Ruby had no clue how to respond to that observation.

"So! Where did you learn to do this?" He gestured to scroll footage of Ruby battling the robbers.

"S-Signal Academy."

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

Ruby began to panic "Well, one teacher in particular."

"I see…" Ozpin decided a carrot was necessary and slid a plate of cookies to the wasn't long before half of the plate was empty.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow…"

"Oh! That's my uncle!" Ruby mumbled through her full mouth. "Sorry. That's my Uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm all like— Hooowaaah! Witchaaaa!" The girl waved her arms about in a cheery display.

Ozpin smiled "So I've noticed."

Glynda meanwhile rolled her eyes at the news "Of course it was Qrow" she muttered.

Ozpin ignored her and continued "And what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?"

Ruby continued to beam "Well... I want to be a Huntress."

Ozpin raised his brow "You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal!" Ruby said, growing more excited by the second. "And then I'm going to apply to Beacon! You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it! I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!"

As soon as she was done Glynda had had enough. "Do you think this is a game or a fairy tale?! Fifty percent of huntsmen meet tragic deaths in the line of duty, those who survive rarely come out unscathed, and the public is becoming less and less grateful for their sacrifice even if they work in militaries and law enforcement. If you're seeking romance and excitement, I assure you that there are far safer ways to find it."

The girl's face turned solemn at that. "I know." She said "My mom was a huntress. She worked freelance jobs, saved hundreds of lives, and hardly anyone knew who she was. She died in the line of duty when I was six. It left my dad crushed, and things were pretty tough for me and my sister afterwards. But what I remember most about my mom is how excited, cheerful, and optimistic she was about being a huntress, so I've always tried to behave the same."

Glynda's eyes softened, but her frown remained "do you understand what it is that huntsmen and huntresses do?"

"They defend and temper humanity and the four gifts of creation, destruction, knowledge, and choice." Ruby recited as if she'd heard it a million times.

Ozpin gave an amused chuckle "I take it your uncle has hammered that into your head over the years."

Ruby nodded, "Basically they protect and help people against Grimm and criminals however they can. Some of them work for kingdoms in militaries, some of them work outside of kingdoms as law enforcement, and some just work freelance."

Ozpin continued to smile. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby nodded, "You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster at Beacon."

Ozpin smiled "Hello."

"Nice to meet you."

"You want to come to my school?"

Ruby's eyes widened at this thought "Right now?"

Ozpin nodded as Glynda interjected "Think carefully about this decision. You may be talented, but you will be surrounded by students that have two more years of physical and emotional preparation over you. Nobody will slow down for you. You will have to learn fast, or get left behind."

* * *

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, but even during this time, with dwindling numbers, it is the duty of huntsmen and Huntresses to uphold that peace. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

"Oh, wow! Look, you can see Signal from up here!" Ruby exclaimed as she gazed out the window. She and her sister Yang were on a mostly empty airship, surrounded by about ten other students including a tall blond boy who looked like he was going to be sick, though it seemed to be more from nerves than airsickness. Ruby could sympathize.

"Hey Ruby" Yang said softly. "You're mom would be proud."

Ruby beamed "Thanks Yang, so would yours!" Ruby suddenly realized that may not have been the best compliment. "uh, I mean, She is proud… probably… if she even knows about… uhhh."

Yang just smiled and put her arm around Ruby. "Thanks sis."

Ruby grew quiet for a moment "Did you get any leads on her from that Junior guy?"

Yang frowned "No, Nothing."

Ruby quickly perked up "Well maybe we'll be able to find some leads at Beacon. And I'll be there to help you all the way!"

Yang couldn't help but smile in return. Social awkwardness aside, Ruby always managed to make her feel better.

* * *

AN: This may have been pretty short, but don't worry, that'll change when we get further into the story. Honestly the pilot episode was a pretty good episode, despite a few missed opportunities.

Finally, enjoy this little Omake that revises the Black Trailer.

* * *

Omake: Black Trailer

The Spider Mech dissolved, and Adam turned to look for Blake.

"Blake?"

As he moved towards the next car, there was no sign of the Cat Faunus.

"Blake?!"

Suddenly, a squad of Vale Huntsmen appeared and surrounded him.

"Don't move! We got an anonymous tip that there would be an attack on this shipment. How many others are with you?"

Adam frantically began to search for his companion.

"Blake!"

And then he saw her, hidden from the huntsmen, securing a bow around her second set of ears, looking at him with a face of sorrow. Adam felt his heart break as the woman he loved disconnected the cars, and disappeared.

"BLAKE!"

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!"

As the huntsmen closed in and the train faded from view, Adam felt the pain turn to fury, and prepared to draw Wilt.

* * *

 **AN: I feel like Blake just running from Adam was too much of a half-measure and trying to turn him in to the authorities would make more sense. It would also give her more reason to go after Torchwick in the future, if she really does think he's the one pulling the White Fang's strings, and not Adam because she thinks he's incarcerated**

 **AN 3/6/19: I decided to tighten up the story a little bit and omit fewer bits. I want to try and make each chapter or arc feel like it's own self-contained story. I hope you guys enjoyed the edits.**


	2. The Shining BeaconThe First Step

**AN: First things first, an** **explanation of the changes to the previous chapter.**

 **If the relics are really as important as they later become, then they should at least be hinted at from the very beginning. I'm also gonna try and do the same with the Maidens as well.**

 **I also wanted to give a little more insight into Roman, just flesh him out a little more and give him a semblance. As for that brief mention of the thugs having Aura, it doesn't make sense for ANYONE in Remnant to not have Aura, but even less sense for professional criminals** to **not have it. Also, we're treating the dust robberies like they have consequences, like Ruby needing to conserve dust.**

 **I hope I did a good job of giving a better explanation of what being a huntsman entails, and also alluding to the idea that the huntsmen are beginning to be seen as superfluous and overrated (think the Knights Watch or the Survey Core).**

 **And with that little bit of dialogue between Ruby and Yang, I've answered two of the biggest questions the audience had after Volume one. Also, I am omitting Jaune throwing up on the ship because if you want the audience to like and take a character seriously, it's probably not the best idea to throw him under the bus before you've even told us his real name.**

 **Moving on, I know this is another short chapter. And this one covers both "The Shining Beacon" and "The First Step" because there's really only one scene in "The First Step" that I actually take issue with. What can I say, these first three episodes were pretty solid**.

* * *

Jaune Arc emerged from the bullhead and steadied himself against the nearest trash can, desperately hoping he wouldn't need it.

* * *

"But... why would I need friends if I have you?"

"Well..." Yang pretended to start waving to an invisible group "ActuallymyfriendsareoverthereGottagocatchupKayseeyabye!" And took off in the direction of some upperclassmen, hoping the element of surprise would keep Ruby from following.

"Wait a minute, you know barely anyone here, same as me!" Ruby shouted too late.

* * *

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!" The girl in white continued to rant.

Ruby finally lost her temper"Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!"

"If you're going to lecture others about mishandling dust, maybe try following your own advice and don't blow yourself up."

Ruby jumped. The black haired girl had come out of nowhere.

The girl in white fumed "I know how to handle my own dust, I'm…"

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." The girl in black's eyes narrowed and her tone darkened. "The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business…"

She suddenly paused, her eyes darting around. "Look, just don't go blaming others for your own carelessness" she quickly shoved the bottle of dust into Weiss's hands and hurried off.

Ruby expected the girl in white to lash out, but when she looked back at her, she seemed almost ashamed, before she turned and stomped off.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby called out feebly, before sinking to the ground, "Welcome to Beacon..."

A shadow suddenly past over her "Hey... I'm Jaune."

Ruby took the blond boys hand before getting slightly apprehensive. "Are you okay? You looked like you were going to vomit the entire time on the ship"

The boy hung his head in embarrassment. "Nah, it was just motion sickness. Fortunately, I kept it all down" He winced at the awkward progress report.

Ruby giggled a little. "Well good, it'd be pretty hard for people to take you seriously in the future if their first impression of you was 'vomit boy'."

"Hey, watch it, or I might start calling you 'crater face'.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!"

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"

Ruby raised her eyebrow, "do they?"

"I dunno" Jaune wagged his eyebrows up and down teasingly "do they?"

Ruby continued to giggle as silence fell between the two "So... I got this thing!" Ruby quickly unfolded Crescent Rose.

Jaune's surprise at the sudden reveal was quickly replaced by interest "Whoa! Is that a scythe?"

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!"

"A-wha...?"

"It's also a gun."

"Ah" Jaune replied "But wouldn't a scythe require you to get pretty up close to your opponent? Isn't a Sniper rifle function kind of contradictory?"

"Yeah, it took me a long time to master it and find a style that worked for me, but my semblance is speed, so the transitions between the two aren't too difficult for me. Plus the scythe function helps take some of the kick off my shoulder when I fire."

Jaune listened in genuine interest "fair enough if it works for you."

Ruby smiled, liking where this talk was going. "What about your weapon?"

Jaune suddenly became a little sheepish as he revealed a simple hand-and-a-half sword "Oh! I, uh... I got this sword!"

Ruby felt her interest begin to wane a little "Ooooohh!"

"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" He produced his scabbard, which quickly expanded into a kite shield.

Ruby's curiosity continued to fade "So, what do they do?"

Jaune detected the wavering interest and sighed "honestly not much. The shield doubles as a scabbard, which makes them easier to carry."

Ruby realized she must have been making him feel self-conscious "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, sooo... I guess I did go a little overboard with Crescent Rose. More style and a little less substance."

Jaune smiled "Yeah, I might make some adjustments to Crocea Mors in the future, maybe add a side-arm, but for now it works for me. Plus it's a family heirloom, so it'd be disrespectful not to use it."

Ruby felt her curiosity begin to spring up again. "An heirloom? So it's a classic?"

"Yeah, my Great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"And it's still usable?" Ruby squealed, her excitement back "That's amazing! What kind of steel is it? What kind of crafting process was used? Is it damascene?!"

Jaune laughed as he began discussing his swords composition. He couldn't help but feel better talking to this girl. Maybe he wasn't so out of place after all.

It was ten minutes later that the two remembered they were supposed to be at orientation.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far." Ozpin continued his solemn speech to the gathering of fewer than 20 students. "But that being said, the Kingdoms still need you. The number of students enrolling at this and other academies is rapidly dwindling. For many this time of peace has led to complacency, for others the risks and mortality rate that come with the work frighten them away. All of you have a role to play." With those final words, his eyes scanned each student, his eyes seeming to pierce each of them as if reading their minds. "It is up to you to take the first step."

* * *

"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang's cooing was quickly interrupted by a pillow.

"Shut up! I'm not as good at making new friends as you! I can't just ditch my sister and immediately have new ones."

Yang grew a little more somber. "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier. But you can't just rely on me to be your only friend here. And you already made friends with that Jaune guy! Assuming that onesie isn't a deal breaker and you didn't scare him off nerding out over weapons." She ducked the second pillow.

"Look, I'll always have your back, but I can't always be there to protect you. That's why Beacon assigns us teams of four, so you can find at least three more people to have your back. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"

* * *

"So… what's your name?"

"Blake. Blake Bellamy."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister!"

Blake looked up briefly, her eyebrow arched, "You two are sisters?"

"Half-sisters"

"The same dad, different moms"

The two quickly responded, having clearly heard the question before.

* * *

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune." Jaune continued to boast at Weiss, while keeping a respectful distance "Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?"

Weiss smirked, "You really think you're cut out to be a leader?"

Jaune recognized the challenge and grinned back. "Well, I am a pretty good strategist. Gimme a chance. I might surprise you."

"Well then let's see how fast you can think. Pyrrha?"

Jaune barely had time to turn before the lance speared his hoody to the locker.

"I'm sorry!"

Goodwitch's voice rang over the intercom, "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"It was nice meeting you!" Pyrrha offered as she retrieved her weapon.

"Likewise…"

Yang couldn't pass up the opportunity to give the blonde boy a hard time, "Having some trouble there, lady-killer?"

Jaune looked up sheepishly, "Guess I went a little overboard with the whole confidence thing."

''Snow Angel' probably wasn't the best start either."

Ruby offered her friend a hand. "Come on, Jaune, let's go."


	3. The Emerald ForestPlayers and Pieces

**AN: Once again, an explanation of the last chapter! I'm mostly okay with how Weiss introduces herself in canon because one of the best things about Weiss is how much more likable she's become compared to how unlikeable she began. But in the original version of this episode it feels like Blake basically just showed up for no purpose other than to sass Weiss, the second biggest celebrity at the school thus calling attention to herself (something a runaway would never do, and proving Miles' tweet about her never doing anything hateful to be complete BS. So showing up to defend Ruby and getting carried away makes a little more sense to me. Also, I tried to show a bit of shame from Weiss when Blake brings up her family's company. Sign of things to come.**

 **I tried to make Ruby and Jaune's conversation a little less cringy, while also showcasing that they're both kind of nerds and that Jaune is more pragmatic while Ruby is showier. Also not shaming him for having one of the most efficient weapon setups in the series, rather than something which was clearly dreamed up by Monty's inner ten-year-old. Not everything also has to be a gun, there I said it.**

 **Just once again emphasizing the fact that being a huntsman or huntress is dangerous, and their numbers are dwindling, that way we don't have a giant crowd of huntsmen students running away from a Grimm attack, i.e. the thing they've been training to fight. Also, I think it says a lot more about these characters if they aren't scrambling for a job which apparently everyone wants. That's also why I wrote out Yang's "friends" who we never see or hear about again.**

 **Yang's wanting Ruby to make new friends while still wanting to protect her needed a little clarifying. Most people figured it out through observation, but sometimes a little clarification helps.**

 **No, I did not change Blake's last name for kicks and giggles. She's using a pseudonym because there's no way people would hear Belladonna and not wonder about a relationship to the former leader (and I'm guessing founder) of the White Fang and current chieftain of Menagerie. And again, see how easy it was to explain that little detail about Ruby and Yang being half-sisters?**

 **Again, just trying to work some of the cringesout of Jaune's first few appearances (although he really wasn't that close in canon). And hinting at Jaune's future leadership. Spoiler alert, I'm going to actually write him as being smart in practice, not just on paper. Crazy right? What is this, consistency?**

 **So for this chapter I would actually just combine Weiss and Ruby's two arguments (because we get it, they don't get along, the horse is dead, you can stop beating it) and completely leave out the Jaune and Pyrrha in the cave scene (because that, entire scene does is make Jaune look stupid, when he's supposed to be smart). Basically, combine the important parts of Ruby and Weiss's two arguments, and leave out the entire second half of the chapter, except for parts of the Yang and Blake scenes.**

 **And I'm gonna go ahead and also do Players and Pieces here as well because this would be too short without it, and I really want to get to the arcs after the initiation, since that's when I make some of the bigger changes.**

* * *

Ruby had just about had it with her new partner "What was that?! That should've been easy!"

Weiss felt her irritation skyrocketing "You jumped in front of my attack, you dolt! And why didn't you attack from a distance? That would've kept us out of each other's way!"

"I have to save my dust! There's a shortage in Vale right now! Not everyone has access to entire quarries of the stuff!"

"Well, why didn't you tell me that when we teamed up?"

"You didn't ask!"

"How does someone who talks so much have such horrible communication skills?"

"Why are you so bossy?"

"I'm not bossy! Don't say things like that!"

"Stop treating me like a kid!"

"Stop acting like a kid!"

"I got into Beacon early for a reason you know!"

"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo!"

"Well, I'm sorry not everyone's as perfect as you!"

"I'm. Not. Perfect! Not yet... But I'm still leagues better than you." With that, Weiss stomped away, leaving Ruby to mutter.

"You don't even know me…" Weiss paused briefly at that, but then continued forward.

* * *

"Why didn't you activate your Aura?"

"Huh?"

"You're Aura".

Jaune felt himself begin to panic. "welllll"

"Jaune, do you... know what Aura is?"

"Yes, I know what it is." He insisted sharply "It's a magical force field that protects us, enhances our weapons, warns us of danger, and gives us superpowers."

Pyrrha couldn't help but feel that that definition was a little too plain for describing something so miraculous.

"It's not magic. Magic is a power that changes and perverts the nature of things. And nobody even knows if it truly exists. Aura is the naturally occurring manifestation of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts. Have you ever felt you were being watched without knowing that someone was there?"

"Uh... yeah." when did this turn into a sermon?

"With practice, our Aura can be our shield. Everyone has it, even animals."

"Except monsters"

"Correct. The monsters we fight lack a soul. They are creatures of Grimm, the manifestation of anonymity. They are the darkness, and we are the light."

"Right, that's why we fight them!"

"Not just them. Humanity has plenty of enemies from within. Understanding dark and light within ourselves and others helps us manifest our Aura. Everyone has some of both. By baring your soul outward as a force, you can deflect harm. All of our tools, equipment, and especially our semblance are conduits for Aura. You protect yourself and your soul when fighting."

Pyrrha then giggled a little, "So yes, it is a force field that gives you superpowers, if you want to look at it that way. Though that force field is finite, and we can still feel pain in spite of it.

"Right, I know all that, I just…" Jaune paused, looking for the right words. "…haven't had a lot of practice with activating mine."

Pyrrha smiled "I can help you with that." She placed her hand on the side of his head "Now, close your eyes and concentrate."

* * *

"The last pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Strange that two people so different would get along so well. Poor Boy. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos…"

* * *

"Chess pieces?"

"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here." It was then Yang noticed that each piece had two little buds with a thin line extending downward next to them. "And what are these earpieces for?"

"They're probably for communication between partners." Blake responded "teammates are probably tuned to the same frequency. That's probably how we'll know who our other two teammates are. Well, I guess we should pick one."

Yang was one step ahead of her "How about a cute little pony?"

"Sure."

"That wasn't too hard! Wanna wait a little while to see who else shows up?"

Blake got a little nervous, but her curiosity won out. "I wanted to ask you something actually."

"What's up?"

"You're sister, it seems like you really care for her, but it also seems like you're trying to avoid her."

Yang frowned "I'm not trying to avoid her. But I can't be the only person she relies on anymore." Yang sighed, seeing that Blake didn't quite understand "I've been taking care of Ruby almost her whole life. Ever since our… her mom, my stepmom died, I've had to look out for her and keep her out of trouble."

"Well, she wouldn't be here at Beacon if she couldn't take care of herself right?"

"That's part of the problem though. She's confident in her own skills, which is good, but a lot of times she'll get into trouble, and I'll have to bail her out. It's like she's either constantly trying to do everything herself, or constantly needing me to help her. And that's fine, she's my sister and I love her, and I'll always have her back. But no matter how much I want to, I can't always be there for her. She and I won't always want the same things. Someday, our paths may lead us in different directions. I'll have my life to live, and she'll have hers. She can't just rely on me whenever she gets in over her head."

Blake smiled and prepared to respond when she heard a noise overhead.

"Heads uuuuuuuup!"

Yang only had a moment to wonder if Blake's bow had just twitched when she looked up as well, just in time to begin panicking when she saw her sister fall from the sky before Jaune suddenly flew in and knocked the two of them into a tree.

Blake gave Yang a bemused look. "Yeah, she needs all the help she can get."

Yang sweat-dropped as she began to worry for her sister's survival when the forest erupted as an Ursa emerged with… Was that girl riding it?!

Blake began to become concerned herself "You better hope they're not your sister's teammates".

As the Ursa fell the forest erupted again as Pyrrha came running out with a Deathstalker on her tail.

"Seriously?"

* * *

Ruby braced herself for the stinger and then waited a moment longer when she suddenly felt a hand grab her by the hood.

"Come on! Get up, we have to regroup!" Ruby opened her eyes to see she was being led back to the ruins by Weiss. She turned to see the Deathstalker with its tail frozen in rapidly cracking ice.

She quickly picked up the pace as the Nevermore's feathers began to fall again, and within moments she, Weiss, and Yang were back with the group by the ruins, where Weiss rounded on her.

"You are so childish! _And_ dim-witted, _and_ hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." Ruby saw Yang begin to retort for Ruby, only to be stopped by Blake. "And I suppose I can be a bit... _difficult_... but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if _you_ quit trying to show off, I'll be... _nicer_."

Ruby grew sheepish because of their audience but mumbled back "I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this."

Weiss's eyes softened "You're fine."

Yang's sisterly instincts finally overpowered her as she shoved Weiss aside and proceeded to crush Roby's spine with a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay".

"Look" Jaune called, "This is all very heartwarming, but that Deathstalker's almost loose, and we've got a Nevermore overhead. Whatever we're gonna do, we need to do it now."

Weiss was the one with the answer "Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us."

"She's right." Ruby agreed as she took a knight piece and handed the second earpiece to Weiss "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. We can't fight the Nevermore in that field, and that Deathstalker will tear these ruins apart."

Jaune nodded as he took a Rook, "so we grab the relics, and head back to the cliffs, keeping to the trees."

"But if a chance to take one or both of them down presents itself, we should take it" Ren added.

"Then let's move!" Pyrrha called.

* * *

As the bridge shattered behind him, Jaune turned to see Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and Blake on the side with the Deathstalker approaching.

"Ren!" Nora frantically called.

"I'm alright Nora!" Jaune heard in his earpiece.

"Ren, this is Jaune, can you hear me?"

"Little busy here!" was the retort.

He turned to Nora "I guess that makes us a team."

Nora smiled "Let's get over there and help our team out!"

Jaune peered down at the abyss below "Yeah, but, uh... I can't make that jump."

* * *

"Blake! Are you okay?"

Blake took a moment to recall the earpiece she was wearing "I'm alright Yang."

"Hey, looks like we're on the same frequency!" Came Ruby's excited chirp.

"Would you focus already" was Weiss's annoyed cry.

Blake would have scowled at the prospect of teaming with a Schnee if a certain hammer-wielder hadn't suddenly backed her off a cliff.

"Nora, what did you do?!" was Jaune's cray as she fell, only relaxing when he saw her pull herself back to her team's side.

"We've got our own problems!" Ren called.

Jaune turned his attention back to the Deathstalker as he felt the bridge beneath him begin to shift "We gotta move!"

His team rushed forward, attempting to force it back. "Someone take out its stinger!" Jaune called!

Ren obliged as he lept on and began cutting at the joint, while Jaune and Pyrrha continued pushing forward while Nora fired smoke grenades into its face. Pyrrha's Javelin flew into its eye which caused it to begin flailing, throwing Ren off.

"Pyrrha! Finish the stinger!"

(You get the rest)

* * *

Roman Torchwick emerged from another successful robbery, to find himself face to face with two Faunus.

"Oh great" he muttered, "reinforcements."

"You've done well so far, Mr. Torchwick." Said the tall one with the foxtail.

"But with our additional manpower, it's time for some bigger targets." Finished the shorter brother with the fennec ears.


	4. The Badge and The Burden

**AN: So for those who didn't catch the edit I made at the beginning of Chapter 1, I'm going to start putting the explanations for my changes at the beginning of the following chapters, to give my readers the chance to try and figure out the reason behind my changes while I'm writing the next chapter.**

 **Explanation of my previous chapter: So yeah hopefully, that convo between Ruby and Weiss flowed okay. Also, look at that! The Dust robberies have consequences! Fancy that!**

 **Jaune not knowing what aura is didn't make sense, so I used that as an opportunity to give a layman's explanation of what aura is, followed by Pyrrha's more "mystical" explanation.**

 **I decided to throw in the earpieces because, for a show that's supposedly all about friendship and teamwork, there's a real lack of communication and teamwork in the series. But I understand how annoying it can be for characters to huddle up in the middle of a fight; so long range communication seems like a good way for communications to not interrupt the action. And now we don't have to wonder when Ruby explained her slingshot plan.**

 **Also, I figured a little more explanation of Yang's reasons for not wanting to be Ruby's partner was necessary, although it honestly made sense to me when I saw the series.**

 **From there it was just making dialogue a little less cringey and making Jaune's orders feel like actual orders. Plus, it didn't make sense for Ruby and Weiss to have their talk right in front of the Deathstalker.**

 **And yeah, we're gonna introduce Fennec and Corsac a little sooner, because the White Fang needs to be more than a bunch of faceless mooks.**

 **AN: Now we get to some of the big changes. I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think.**

 **Edit 6/30/2018: I made some changes to the ending conversation between Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha.**

* * *

"It's 8:55, you dunce!"

Weiss rushed through the halls and courtyard of Beacon, barely noticing the rest of her team and Team JNPR hot on her trail. She barely arrived on time for the first class of the day.

"Welcome, welcome students!" Said the Green-haired man at the front of the room. "My name is Doctor Oobleck and I will be your history teacher for this semester! Some of you may be wondering what use this class could possibly serve for future huntsmen and huntresses such as yourselves."

As the professor took a sip of what Weiss hoped was coffee, she quickly prepared her notebook and pencil for note taking, figuring this man had no intention of slowing down. She gave a quick glance to see who else was taking notes. She was unsurprised to find Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha all equally prepared to take notes, while Nora already seemed to be spacing off, while Yang at least seemed to be trying to follow the professor. She was a little surprised to see Jaune also taking notes, though he probably felt the need to step up due to his leadership role.

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. For example, the current rise in White Fang activity is a supreme example of both the bigotted portion of the human populations failure to recognize the capabilities of the faunus as demonstrated by the Faunus Rights Revolution, while also displaying the violent portion of the faunus populations failure to learn from the devastation caused by all conflicts between persons of all species and race."

As Oobleck once again paused for coffee, Weiss glanced in Ruby's direction and was infuriated to find her staring off into space while balancing a pencil on her finger.

"While many of these lessons may feel mostly political, there are also lessons to be applied to combat situations as well. Let's take a look at examples from the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the FaunusWar, during which human-kind was quite, adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie, as you should all know from the curriculum which would have been covered in last years curriculum. Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" Weiss's hand quickly flew up. "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle! Between human General Lagune and faunus leader Ghira Belladonna," she stated confidently.

"Precisely! And this next question is for the team leads since tactics and strategy will primarily be their responsibility, who can tell me the advantage General Belladonna had over General Lagune's forces?"

Weiss was once again surprised when Jaune's hand was the one that was raised. "Night vision. Most faunus have better sight in the dark than humans. General Lagune didn't know his enemy, even looking down on them, and made the mistake of trying to ambush Belladonna's forces in their sleep. His massive army was routed, his fort taken, and the general himself was captured."

Oobleck smiled at the boy's insight "Excellent!" and continued on with the lesson.

Weiss once again glanced at Ruby, who seemed to be doodling in her notes. "Maybe I _should've_ joined 'Team Jaune'" she muttered furiously.

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Nora asked, "Divide and conquer?"

They were in combat class, and Team JNPR was preparing for a match against Team CRDL.

Jaune quickly grew nervous at Nora's idea.

"Well… it might be better if we stuck with partnerships. You and Ren know each other pretty well."

"But you and Pyrrha don't." Ren supplied "at the start at least the two of you should stay divided until you have a better feel for each other's fighting styles."

Jaune began to sweat a little.

"Don't worry" Pyrrha supplied with a smile "I'll come to your aid if you start to get into trouble."

Jaune took some comfort in that. "All right, Ren and Nora take Russel and Cardin, and try to work together if you can, Pyrrha takes Sky, and I'll take Dove."

"Everyone ready?" Goodwitch asked.

"Ready!" Jaune called in what he hoped was a confident voice.

"Then begin!"

The buzzer sounded and the two teams charged forward. Nora and Cardin quickly clashed, with Cardin attempting a powerful overhead swing on Nora's head, which she blocked with the handle of Magnhild. She dropped to a knee and It seemed that she would be crushed until she slowly began overpowering Cardin and rose to her feet with a manic grin on her face. Cardin quickly backed away, barely avoiding the powerful swing she sent his way.

Russell was working on keeping Ren away from Nora, as he and Cardin had recognized that the two of them had a good rapport, and would likely be a deadly duo. Unfortunately, Ren always seemed at least one step ahead of him. Russell was fast, but he could barely keep up with Ren's agility and fluid natural movements. It was all he could do just to keep Ren occupied, knowing that if he and Nora were able to work together, it'd be all over.

Team RWBY looked on from the bleachers. Weiss was glad that Ruby seemed to be paying attention to this at least.

"You knew Cardin and his friends in Signal right Yang?"

Yang nodded "Cardin's the only one that could ever beat me, but they were no pushovers."

"Looks like Ren and Nora have their numbers though" mused Blake.

"And with Pyrrha on their team, there's no way they'll lose" Said Weiss.

Their commentary was suddenly interrupted by a buzzer as Jaune's aura hit the red after a flurry of blows from Dove. Weiss looked at the match timer to find that barely a minute had passed since the beginning of the match. Pyrrha wouldn't have had time to help him even if she had noticed.

"You were wide open dude" Dove looked down at his opponent with a look of both sympathy and disappointment, before turning to aid his struggling teammates. He first focused on Nora, who was chipping away at Cardin's defenses as he used all his energy just to keep her from landing a solid blow on him. Dove rushed to their battle, firing three shots at Nora's back which distracted her long enough for Cardin to go back on the offensive, landing a solid hit on her chest to send her flying and allowed the two to quickly dispatch her. The three then focused on Ren, whose speed was no match for three enemies at the same time. Three members of Team JNPR had been defeated in as many minutes.

Cardin, Russ, and Dove all turned to where Pyrrha and Sky were fighting, only to find Sky retreating towards them. Cardin glanced at his scroll, to find that Sky's aura was already in the orange, and then glanced at the screen to find Pyrrha's aura untouched.

"I can't get a hit on her! It took everything I had to keep her from helping her team!" Sky despaired.

"It's fine" Cardin called, preparing for battle "She's just one girl!"

Pyrrha glanced with sadness at her downed teammates, and then faced her four opponents.

(Insert Pyrrha vs CRDL fight from Volume 2 here)

"Well done miss Nikos" Professor Goodwitch was unreadable at the moment. "This match is a fine example of the positive and negative impact that a single person can have on their team. On the one hand, one person can pull their team from the brink of defeat" she gestured at Pyrrha "but if a chain has even one weak link, then the entire chain is compromised" She glared at Jaune "I certainly hope you don't plan to rely on Miss Nikos for everything Mr. Arc."

Jaune barely heard Goodwitch's announcement of the Vytal Festival that would take place at the end of the second semester. He could only hang his head in shame as Pyrrha joined the rest of the team.

"I'm sorry" Jaune muttered, "I underestimated him."

"No" Pyrrha attempted to reassure him "You suggested that we stick with pairs, and we should have listened."

"We figured you'd last more than one minute." Ren gave Jaune a furious glare before heading back to the locker room

In the bleachers, the rest of Team RWBY continued to express sympathy for Jaune Ren and Nora, while praising Pyrrha's talent, while Weiss had once again begun to seethe.

"They made that klutz leader but not me!?"

* * *

By the end of Grimm studies, Weiss had had it with the injustice that had been dealt her. Ruby continued to goof off and Jaune remained silent for most of the class, probably still stewing in his failure.

Weiss had volunteered to fight a Grimm in class to demonstrate her superiority in the hopes that Professor Port would vouch for her case to Ozpin, but Boarbatusks were tricky enough for her, and she was having a hard time thinking straight. And _then_ Ruby had the _audacity_ to give _her_ advice when she'd been goofing off all day. Even if the tip _had_ worked.

Ruby ran after Weiss as she stormed off

"Weiss!"

Weiss turned around furiously "What?"

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with _you_? And Jaune?!

Ruby scowled at the mention of Jaune "What's Jaune got to do with this?"

"You two are supposed to be leaders, and all you've been so far is a nuisance and dead weight! _You've_ done _nothing_ to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

"Not a team led by _you_. I've studied _and_ trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better. Ozpin made a mistake."

Weiss continued to storm off, leaving Ruby feeling terrible

"Hmm... Now that didn't seem to go very well."

* * *

Jaune continued to sulk as he roamed Beacons halls, trying to work out his thoughts when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Mister Arc!" came the rapid greeting of Doctor Oobleck

"I appreciated your contributions to the discussion in my class today!"

"Oh," Jaune stammered "Thank you."

"I supposed you would know quite a bit about the Faunus Rights Revolution, seeing as your father was a veteran of it. One of the few humans to aid the faunus" the Doctor continued to ponder "In fact, I dare say many of your ancestors have been present when history was being made!"

Jaune felt himself become even more depressed at the mention of his family's history but tried to keep his smile, only slightly succeeding.

"But don't let that burden weigh you down" Oobleck offered kindly "we all have an important part to play in the making of history, and I'm sure yours will be just as significant as anyone else, no matter how small it may seem at first."

He then sped off. Jaune was sure that he didn't mean to make him feel worse but he couldn't help but feel even more down by the time Pyrrha found him and said she wanted to show him something.

* * *

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked confused.

Ozpin persisted "I mean it's only been one day. Ruby... I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider yours or Mr. Arc's appointments to leaders to be one of them. Do you?"

* * *

Jaune felt his self-loathing finally boiling over "I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't earn my spot at this Academy! I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied!"

Pyrrha was shocked at this confession "What? But... why?"

"Because this is what I've always wanted to be! My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too." He then clenched his fists in resentment "But my father refused to train me because of the peace, and I was never good enough to get into any combat schools."

Pyrrha persisted "Then let me help you!"

"You heard Goodwitch! I can't keep relying on you!"

"Jaune, I-"

"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own... then maybe coming here was a bad idea."

"Nope!"

Jaune turned around in alarm to find Ruby there.

"Ruby!" As the panic faded he began to feel a sense of acceptance "You're going to tell Ozpin aren't you?" he asked calmly.

"Nope!"

"'Nope?'"

"Nope! I've been given a chance despite being two years younger than everyone. It wouldn't be right if I didn't give you a chance."

"But... what if I screw up that chance?"

"Nope!"

Jaune laughed "You know you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff."

"Nope!" Ruby grew a little more serious "Jaune, if you're going to risk everything to try and be a hero, then you _can't_ screw up this chance! You know why?"

Jaune paused "Because it's not just about me anymore."

"You've got a team now, Jaune. One that wants you to lead them" she nodded at Pyrrha, who nodded back "Which is a little more than I've got right now. But if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us. We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second. If that means swallowing your pride and accepting help to get better, then we need to do it. Your team deserves a great leader, Jaune. And I think that can be you."

Jaune smiled then turned back to Pyrrha. "You really want me to be your leader after all this?"

Pyrrha nodded "I already consider you a good friend that I don't want to lose. And I really do think you'll be a great leader."

Jaune faltered "I still don't like the thought of relying on you for everything."

Pyrrha smiled "Then learn fast, and someday soon I'll rely on you."

"And speaking of needing help" Ruby began to tap her pointer fingers together sheepishly "I've pretty much got the Grimm stuff down, but even if I wasn't two years behind, I'm terrible with history. Do you think you could tutor me?"

Jaune smiled, looking behind Ruby "I think you might have that covered."

Ruby turned to see Weiss behind her. Weiss took a deep breath, remembering Professor Port's earlier advice "Ruby, I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. Just know that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have!"

Ruby smiled.

"But even if you do know the Grimm stuff, you still need to pay attention in class!" She added sharply, which Ruby nodded quickly at.

"As for you" Jaune flinched when she turned to him "You'd better learn fast because if I still feel like you're holding your team back by the time of the Vytal Festival, I _will_ report you!"

Jaune smiled appreciatively "Thank you."

Weiss then grabbed Ruby as they went to study

"How do you take your coffee?"

"I... I don't..."

"Answer the question!"

"Uhh, cream and five sugars!"

Jaune turned to Pyrrha. "So what's first?"

Pyrrha grinned and then stepped forward to shove him down.

* * *

Unbeknownst to any of them, that roof was right above Team JNPR's room, and on the windowsill seethed a very livid Lie Ren.


	5. The Stray

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, new job, ON WITH THE EXPLANATIONS (there's quite a few)! :)**

 **So let's start with the big ones. Jaune's story coincides with "The Badge and the Burden" and will also coincide with "The Stray" and "Black and White" that way it feels less like he just hijacked the show for 4 weeks. Plus it makes sense, there are some good parallels to be drawn. Ruby and Jaune both feel unprepared, and are dealing with leadership challenges. And it gives Weiss even more reason to be frustrated with her lot.**

 **Second thing, NO BULLY ARC! Nobody likes bully arcs, so we're not having one. Instead, we're focusing on JNPR's internal troubles, while CRDL remains jobbers and measuring sticks. Like Raditz.**

 **Once again, Jaune is smart in action, not just on paper. If he really wanted so desperately to be a huntsman, he would be eager to do the best he could in every aspect of his schooling and would be doing the best he could where he could. He wouldn't be falling asleep in class just for a cheap joke.**

 **So, let's talk about why I decided to change up the fight scene here. First of all, it shows how Jaune's actions affect others, second, it makes the fight which would have taken place in Volume 2 make more sense, since it isn't just a Pyrrha exhibition for the sake of a Pyrrha exhibition, it actually makes sense, and third, it actually benefits Pyrrha more, because of a little thing called Power Scaling. In canon, all we know about Team CRDL's fighting prowess is that one of them was stronger than Jaune in Volume 1, and all four of them ran away from a Grimm that Jaune killed. So Pyrrha steamrolling through all 4 of them doesn't make her look strong, it just makes them look weak. But the way I've done it, we know they're all slightly weaker than Ren and Nora as individuals, but in groups of two or three, they outmatch them. And because we know that Ren and Nora are considered skilled, this makes them look tough, and it makes Pyrrha look amazing by being able to beat what's essentially 3.5 Ren and Noras.**

 **Jaune claims in canon that his family is full of heroes, but nobody ever brings it up. Makes sense that Oobleck would. And it inadvertently makes Jaune feel a little more inadequate.**

 **So I know it feels like we kind of just dodged the conflict of Jaune's mistakes, but here's the thing, him turning down Pyrrha felt like a really dumb move in canon, one he seemed to regret almost immediately. And he still needed Ruby's encouragement. Plus he's gonna need Pyrrha's training for what's coming up.**

 **Now some people have commented that they feel like Ren is OOC. I might have gone a little overboard with the snide remarks, but if you feel like him showing emotion before Volume 4 is OOC, well, it's either him, or Nora, or a bully arc. I'll make an effort to make his anger and frustration feel justified and make sense. But also, in a project like this, brace yourselves for some characters feeling a little OOC.**

* * *

Jaune once again felt his back hit the floor of the roof. After two weeks he still wasn't able to land a blow on Pyrrha, though she insisted he was getting better, and he had noticed a longer stretch between intervals on the ground.

"Why don't we take a break" Pyrrha panted. She was impressed by Jaune's lack of fatigue. He had a healthy sheen of sweat, but his breathing was steady.

"If you can keep your defense up you'll be almost unstoppable."

Jaune frowned. "I need to be able to land some hits as well though."

Pyrrha felt a small swell of pride. "I wouldn't feel too bad about that. Not many people can hit me." She noticed a small smile, which disappeared almost immediately. "Is something wrong?"

Jaune sighed. "I think Ren's still mad at me. He's barely spoken to me since our first day."

Pyrrha tilted her head in confusion "isn't that just Ren being Ren? He's always quiet."

Jaune shook his head. "He isn't just quiet, he avoids talking or even looking at me. And when I do catch him looking he looks pissed. Nora told me earlier that she was worried.

Pyrrha nodded. "well, maybe you should talk to him!"

"He's been avoiding me."

"Then we'll find a way to get you two alone together!"

Jaune laughed "It's generally not a good idea to force these things Pyrrha. When he wants to talk he'll talk."

Pyrrha frowned. 'That doesn't seem right' she thought.

* * *

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?"

"Ugh, they smell like fish!" Ruby groaned while covering her nose, not catching Blake's deep inhales behind her.

"I've heard that students visiting from Mistral will be arriving by ship today. And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss responded properly.

Blake rolled her eyes "She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament."

Weiss scoffed "You can't prove that!"

"You're from Atlas, why would you be representing Beacon?"

"Whoa." Ruby had looked down an alley to see what looked like an armored truck robbery "What happened there?"

The rest of the team joined her to observe the scene. A large truck had been turned on its side, while a tow truck was parked in the middle of the street. There were three body bags off the side. Two detectives were discussing the scene.

"They left all the money again. Executed all the witnesses."

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?"

"Think it was Torchwick again?"

"No way Torchwick could've pulled this himself. They were in and out in three minutes. Would've taken at least 5 other guys to unload the dust in that time. And he's never had a crew this professional before."

"You thinking the White Fang?"

"Why would the White Fang work with a human like Torchwick?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."

A scowl had developed on Weiss' face as soon as the White Fang was mentioned "Hmph! The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!"

Blake's bow began to twitch "What's your problem?"

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus."

"Misguided? They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!"

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, this doesn't fit their M.O. They wouldn't have executed the witnesses like that! They would have wanted people to know it was them."

Weiss waved her explanation off "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

Yang tried to calm things down "That's not necessarily true..."

"Hey, stop that Faunus!"

The team turned just in time to see a young man with a monkey tail jumping off a ship on the docks.

"Thanks for the ride, guys!"

"You filthy Faunus!"

The faunus made an exaggerated gesture of sniffing beneath his armpit while hanging from a lamppost by his tail.

"Right on both counts, though I might smell better if you guys had a shower in the cargo bay! Or if you'd let me use my room!" he joked while peeling a banana.

"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" One of the detectives from earlier shouted.

The boy simply dropped his peel on the man's face then ran away laughing. As he passed team RWBY, Blake was flustered by the wink he sent her way.

"Officer, there's been a mistake!" The team looked back to the docks to see a young woman with long black hair approaching the detective. "He wasn't stowing away, he's a team leader from Haven like me!"

"Then what was he doing in the cargo bay?"

She rounded on the sailors who had pursued the Faunus "These men wouldn't let him stay in his room, even though it was paid for by the school! I had to bring him his meals from the mess hall."

"That's ridiculous!" One of the sailors shouted. "Huntsmen academies don't accept those animals."

The detective's partner rounded on him "Actually they started accepting them this year. Beacon has two Faunus students. Maybe try watching the news some time."

The black haired girl showed the detectives several documents. "This is his ticket stub from when he boarded, this is a copy of his student I.D., and this is a letter from Headmaster Lionheart which he told me to show any authorities if Sun should be given any trouble."

The officers looked over the documents quickly and then turned to the sailors. "I think we need to have a word with you boys on the discrimination laws here in Vale." He then turned to the young woman "You can go find your friend, just tell him to be a little more respectful of law enforcement in the future, miss…"

"Fall, Cinder Fall." As she began to head down the docks towards the young man.

Yang turned to Weiss with a small smile. "Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..."

Weiss quickly intercepted Cinder as she passed by "excuse me, we couldn't help but notice your trouble." She turned on her most sympathetic of smiles. "We're huntresses in training as well! Might we accompany you in your search for your classmate?"

Cinder quickly glanced at the group of four before her, her gaze lingering briefly on Ruby. "I would greatly appreciate that, thank you."

The five of them quickly introduced themselves then began to hurry off in the direction the Faunus had retreated in. Weiss wasted no time interrogating Cinder, becoming so distracted she didn't notice when she ran into an orange haired girl in a green dress. In the confusion, Cinder managed to disappear.

"No! They got away!" Weiss groaned.

"Uhh... Weiss?" Yang gestured to the smiling girl underneath Weiss.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!"

* * *

"I'm combat ready!" Penny saluted enthusiastically.

Weiss looked skeptical "Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

Blake continued to send barbs Weiss's way "Says the girl wearing a dress."

"It's a combat skirt!"

"Yeah!" Ruby joined in, eager for something she and Weiss had in common.

"Wait a minute." Weiss quickly approached the doll-like girl "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that young woman and that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?"

"The monkey-tailed who...?"

"The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

Blake finally snapped "Why do you keep saying that?!"

"Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him filthy! He's a person!"

Weiss: "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He ran from the police. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"

"You ignorant little brat!"

* * *

The remaining three members of Team RWBY prepared to head out and look for Blake

"She's been gone all night."

"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself!"

"Weiss, come on. She's one of our teammates."

"Is she? We all heard what she said!"

"Weiss."

Yang interjected as the three left the dorm. "Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing, and we need to find her!"

"Everything okay?" Jaune asked, the rest of his team behind him.

Ruby looked at Yang, who gave her a nod. "No, Blake's gone missing. We're heading out to find her."

Pyrrha interjected, "We'll help you look!"

Weiss hesitated "That may not be a good idea. You see Blake's…"

"A Faunus?" everyone was surprised by Nora's interjection. "What, you guys didn't notice the way her bow moves?"

Jaune shook his head in astonishment. "It doesn't matter if she's a faunus, she's still our friend. We're going to help you look."

Ruby smiled in appreciation. "In that case, we should split up into groups of two or three!"

Pyrrha saw an opportunity and seized it "That sounds wonderful! We can take this opportunity to get to know each other better! I'll go with Ruby, Nora can go with Weiss and Yang, and Ren and Jaune can take this opportunity for some male bonding time!"

She sent Jaune a large grin which he returned with a look of horror.

He began to protest until… "I'd like to come along too." The group turned to see Cinder coming to join Ruby and Pyrrha. "I still haven't been able to find Sun, so it's possible he ran into your teammate."

"It's settled then!" Ruby cheered "operation 'Find our Friends' is go!"


	6. Black and White: Part One

**AN: To make up for the long wait for the last chapter, I decided to get this one out fast! On with the explanation for last week.**

 **Pyrrha and Jaune's scene should be pretty self-explanatory. They've been training for two weeks, Ren's pissed at Jaune for reasons he doesn't quite understand, and Pyrrha thinks getting them alone to talk it out is a good idea (debatable).**

 **I think I deserve credit for showing more portrayals of Faunus discrimination in one chapter than M &K have shown in 5 volumes. Even if you leave out the descriptions of Sun's treatment on the boat and just look at the racial slurs (or I guess racial phrasing).**

 **And yeah, Cinder's gonna be hanging out with the main cast a little more so her eventual betrayal feels more like an actual betrayal.**

 **Also, the cops are being a little smarter about not automatically assuming the White Fang when Roman Torchwick has been pulling off the majority of robberies lately, while Blake isn't acting like the White Fang would NEVER steal dust, even though it's literally the first thing we see her do.**

 **And Team JNPR is going to be more involved in the actual story, so they feel less like side-characters prior to Volume 3. Also, Nora's secretly the smartest person around, and pretty much always knows what's going on. Because she's Nora.**

* * *

"Sun... Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"You see the tail, right?" Sun snarked with a grin, "Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want."

"I was once a member of the White Fang."

Sun quickly panicked at his rudeness "O-of course they didn't start out that way! They used to be working for peace when Ghira Belladonna was running things! Then they started acting violently and I'm guessing that's when you left!"

"I was a member up until about 6 or 7 months ago." Sun promptly clammed up. "But I remember when it was a peacekeeping organization. You could almost say I was born into it... The White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between Humans and the Faunus."

"But it didn't work out that way" Sun interjected helpfully, eager to show he wasn't completely ignorant "The humans still treated us like garbage, so, the White Fang stepped up as a voice of our people."

Blake nodded "And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I actually thought we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist."

"I don't think it was just optimism" Sun insisted "but I guess things weren't progressing fast enough."

"Maybe." Blake appreciated the assurance, but she still wasn't sure "Anyway, five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader, with a new way of thinking."

Sun nodded "And that's when things started turning violent."

"Suddenly, our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us, hijacking cargo from companies that used Faunus labor. And eventually, even that escalated into murder, assassinations, and full-blown terrorism in the last two years. And the worst part was, it started working. We were starting to be treated as equals. But not out of respect... out of fear."

Blake sipped her tea sadly "So, I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow."

Sun nodded sympathetically "So... have you told your friends any of this?"

* * *

"Blaaaake!"

Ruby's only response was Pyrrha's echo, "Blaaaake!"

"Blaaaaaaaake! Where aaaare yoooouuuu!?"

Cinder sighed "I don't think calling out is going to do much. Especially if she doesn't want to be found."

"Well, we can't just stand around and do nothing!" Ruby replied. "If she's hurt we might never find her!"

"Actually, over 1% of all missing person cases are solved eventually!" chirped a cheery voice behind the three.

"Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?" Ruby cried.

"Hey, guys! What are you up to?"

Cinder responded, "we're looking for Ruby's teammate Blake, and one of my classmates, Sun."

"Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl and the boy that the Schnee girl called riffraff!"

Ruby facepalmed as Pyrrha and Cinder looked at her.

"Guess we know why Blake ran" Pyrrha observed.

Ruby nodded then a thought occurred "Wait, how did you know Blake was a Faunus?"

Penny looked confused "Uhh, the cat ears?"

Cinder gave Ruby another look "did everyone know but her team?"

"So, where is she?" Penny inquired.

"We don't know. She's been missing since last night."

Penny gasped "That's terrible!"

While Penny showered Ruby with reassurances Pyrrha leaned over to Cinder and whispered: "does she seem a little 'off' to you?"

Cinder simply smirked in amusement "I'm meeting so many interesting people today!"

* * *

Blake!" Yang shouted.

"~BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!~" Nora sang.

Yang turned to Weiss "You could at least PRETEND to help you know!"

Weiss glared "Oh! You know what might be able to help? The police!"

Yang rolled her eyes "Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions."

"Not to arrest her, just to find her!"

"Besides!" Nora added, "They won't arrest her just for being a faunus!"

Yang groaned "It's not just that, Nora."

"Aw come on!" Nora cheered "I'm sure she hasn't done anything that bad! Everyone has secrets!"

"Yeah, but their secrets usually aren't jailable!" Weiss pointed out.

Nora turned ponderous at that "I dunno, forgery's a crime so Jaune might be in trouble."

"Wait, what?!" Yang exclaimed as Weiss facepalmed.

* * *

Jaune and Ren searched the warehouses near the docks in silence. Ren had wordlessly led them there, though Jaune didn't bother to question it, figuring he assumed that Blake may have chosen to board a boat and flee the Kingdom. He'd tried several times to break the ice with his teammate, but Ren had remained silent the entire time.

"Over here!" Jaune turned to see Ren beckoning him towards a warehouse.

"Did you find her?!" Jaune asked as he rushed past "BLAKE?!"

What he found was an empty warehouse, as the door behind him shut. Jaune turned to see Ren fixing him with a death glare.

"We need to talk."

"O-okay" Jaune stuttered, "but you didn't have to lead me all the way out here to do that."

"I didn't want us to be overheard, and that rooftop isn't nearly as secretive as you and Pyrrha think it is"

Jaune blanched at the implications "Look, Ren…"

"I know you faked your way into Beacon. " Ren interrupted "You've put our entire team at risk."

"I know, but-"

"Just shut up!" Ren snarled "I'm not completely heartless, and I know you've been training with Pyrrha, so I'll give you a chance to earn your place, right here, right now."

With that, Ren whipped out Storm Flower, and Jaune instinctively drew Crocea Mors and unfolded his shield, only to be confused when Ren laid Storm Flower on a nearby bench, then raised his fists and squared off.

"If you can bring my aura down to Yellow before I bring yours down to red, I'll drop the subject and you can stay at Beacon. But if you can't, I will report you to Goodwitch, and you will never be a huntsman."

Jaune knew that there was no convincing Ren otherwise.

"Fair enough" he nodded and moved to place his weapons on the bench.

"Keep those" Ren insisted.

Jaune looked at him and almost felt offended.

"No."

"I'm giving you a handicap" Ren asserted "pick them up"

"No." Jaune insisted as he laid his weapons on the bench "That wouldn't be fair."

The minute he laid them down he felt Ren seize him by the back of his hoodie and his hair, then slam his face into the bench, before throwing him away.

"You think the Grim care about what's fair?!"

Jaune scrambled to his feet only to be met with Ren's boot.

"You think the White Fang will care about what's fair with how unfair we've been to them!?"

Jaune rolled away, trying to create some distance, and raised his fists in a defensive position.

"That's no excuse to act like them!" he insisted.

"GROW UP!" Ren shouted as he charged again, and Jaune tried to defend "Huntsmen aren't trained to fight fair, they're trained to SURVIVE!"

Jaune finally managed to grab Rens hands through his barrage and moved in for a fist to his face. Ren ducked then wrenched his hand away and gave Jaune some distance.

"You didn't care about fair when you lied your way into Beacon, and I didn't care about fair while I was keeping myself and Nora alive for the last 7 years."

Jaune braced himself, trying to find a way to win.

* * *

"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asked.

"I need to figure out who's been committing these dust robberies," Blake responded.

"You don't think it was the White Fang?"

"It's not impossible…" Blake conceded "They've robbed bigger things than trucks before. But they normally would've left witnesses to tell others it was them or made some sort of statement claiming responsibility. And there's still that Torchwick guy."

Sun suddenly got an idea "What about a stakeout? We go to the most likely place they'd be at if they were the ones behind it, and then find out who IS doing it."

Blake considered this "The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."

"While I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?"

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter."

"You're sure?"

* * *

You really don't care if we find her, do you?" Yang demanded.

"Don't be stupid; of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her." Weiss retorted

"What, are you worried she'll have more crap to say about your father's company?"

"It's not my father's company!" Weiss asserted "It was started by my grandfather. And during the Faunus War, it was a refuge for the Faunus people. It kept them from being evicted to Menagerie with work visas."

"So what happened?" Nora asked, "You're grandfather's not around anymore, and there are hundreds of testimonies claiming that the mines are nowhere near up to code, with the Faunus workers having no choice but to work there. Are you saying those are all lies?"

Weiss looked down "That's not the Schnee families fault." She muttered then rose her head "And that's not the issue right now. Blake's clearly done some things that she felt the need to keep a secret. That why she ran!"

With that, she pushed on in search of her teammate.

* * *

"So, Blake is your friend?"

Ruby sighed "Yes, Penny."

"But you're mad at her?"

"Yes. Well, I'm not. Weiss is."

"Is she friends with Blake?"

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now..."

"But why?"

"Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was..."

Penny continued to look confused "Why does her being a faunus change who you thought she was?"

"It doesn't!" Ruby insisted "But there are some other things she didn't bother telling us before she ran off."

"Why would she run without telling you?"

"Because she was scared." Cinder interjected, "She hid her ears and ran when you found out the truth because she was scared. That's probably also why we're having so much trouble finding her."

Ruby sighed "so how can I make her feel not scared?"

Cinder smiled "by making her feel strong. There was a time when I was scared. I tried to run and hide, but I couldn't escape. So I learned to be strong, and surrounded myself with others who made me feel strong."

Ruby frowned at that "But how can I do that?"

Now it was Penny's turn to respond "I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

Ruby smiled sadly "Me too..."

"I suppose that's one way" Cinder shrugged.

Pyrrha put her hand reassuringly on Ruby's shoulder "you knew what to say to Jaune, didn't you? I'm sure you'll know what to say to Blake."

Ruby smiled at her friends and continued her search.

* * *

The sun was getting low as Ren continued his assault on Jaune. He currently stood behind Jaune with his arm twisted behind his back. Jaune's aura continued to drop while keeping Jaune's arm from breaking, though Jaune still felt the strain.

Jaune grit his teeth and finally powered through the pain to turn around and land a powerful haymaker on Ren's jaw. Ren stumbled back and glanced at his wrist-mounted aura monitor. It showed him just above the yellow.

Ren had to admit that Jaune's strength was impressive. The handful of blows he'd managed to land had surprised him. He was also impressed by Jaune's stamina, and not just the stamina afforded by his aura. He rarely acknowledged when he was in pain, even though aura did nothing to nullify it, and he still looked ready to go.

Unfortunately, his aura level said otherwise.

"It's over." Ren declared

Jaune glanced down at his aura meter in horror. Sure enough, his aura had entered the red just as he landed his strike on Ren.

"H-hold on!" Jaune stammered "I'm not done yet!"

"Yes, you are." Ren replied, striding over to the bench "We had a deal, you lost. You're out."

Jaune seized his shoulder "It's not over while I'm still standing!"

In the next moments, Jaune was on his back with Ren's knee pressed into his throat.

"I gave you a handicap, and even went easy on you, and you still failed." Ren said quietly "This isn't a fairytale Jaune."

He eased up on Jaune's throat, and his expression changed to one of sympathy. "I'm probably saving your life here Jaune. More than half of all huntsmen die in action." His gaze hardened again "I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure Nora doesn't become one of those statistics. Even if it means getting you expelled."

Ren gathered his things, while Jaune lay there, trying as hard as possible not to cry.

* * *

Blake hanged her head in despair as she watched the White Fang soldiers begin to unload the dust "Oh no..."

"Is that them?"

"Yes... It's them."

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?"

"No. I knew it was a possibility. I just didn't want to be right."

"Hey! What's the holdup!?" The two looked up to see Roman Torchwick giving orders "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

"Torchwick…" A tall fox faunus growled at the criminal in frustration while his smaller brother held him back.

"The Albains" Blake muttered.

"You know them?" Sun whispered.

"They were two of the more influential members of the White Fang." Blake explained, "They're fierce defenders of the cause." Her eyes narrowed "This isn't right. They would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that."

"Maybe that's why they killed the witnesses" Sun theorized "They didn't want people thinking they were just a bunch of petty croo- Hey, what are you doing?!" Blake had descended down for a closer look.

As she got closer she heard Torchwick arguing with one of the soldiers.

"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" Gambol shroud was at his throat before anyone noticed her "What the- Oh, for f-"

"Nobody move!"

Blake quickly found herself with multiple guns trained in her direction.

"Blake!" Fennec greeted her like an old friend "so nice of you to join us!"

Blake quickly yanked her bow from her head as she faced the two brothers

"Since when do the Albain brothers ally themselves with scum like this?"

"Circumstances demanded it." Growled Corsac, clearly not pleased with those circumstances.

Roman began to laugh "Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation."

Blake's question was almost drowned out by the sudden sound of the Bullhead overhead

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation..."

Blake was so shocked by the two bullheads that joined the first that she had no time to react to the explosion that was suddenly fired right beneath her feet.

* * *

 **CLIFFHANGER!**


	7. Black and White: Part Two

**AN: Explanation!**

 **Mostly just trying to craft some of the conversations that would take place in these new search parties. Nora continues to know more than anyone realizes because she's Nora! And isn't it nice to see Ruby making lasting friendships?**

 **Also trying to make Sun and Blake's discussion about the White Fang feel more like a discussion because Sun shouldn't need a lecture on who and what the White Fang are. And he should also know what a stakeout is.**

 **So I'm still seeing some complaints that Ren is OOC. But consider what we've learned about him here: he's capable of anger which occasionally causes him to behave with less chill, he's seen some frightening things in his life, and he's protective of Nora. These are hints of things we were already going to learn about him in Volume 4, so this just makes those eventual reveals feel a little less abrupt. And again, it's still a million times better than a bully arc.**

* * *

Ren and Jaune looked up in shock at the explosions nearby.

Ren turned to Jaune.

"Stay here!"

And like that he ran towards the commotion.

* * *

Blake scrambled away from the combined gunfire of Roman, the Albains, and the White Fang troops that accompanied them, barely making it behind a crate.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." Roman muttered as he stalked the cat faunus

Suddenly his vision was blurred by something yellow. He threw aside the banana only to be met by a pair of sneakers colliding with his face.

"Leave her alone!" the offending monkey faunus commanded.

Roman couldn't help but smirk as more White Fang soldiers joined him and approached the boy.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?"

Sun sprang into action, bringing his fist to the face of the nearest White Fang goon and retreated in the opposite direction from where Blake had run, hoping to draw away some enemies from her.

Blake moved quickly to try and pick off as many attackers as possible while remaining hidden, but there were so many there was no way she'd be able to take them all, even with Sun's help.

"Have to take out the leader" she muttered.

Sun had had a similar idea, doubling back after losing some of his pursuers, and finding Torchwick still ordering what men remained to load the dust. He leaped down to confront the man, unleashing his weapons Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in a flurry upon the criminal. However, Torchwick easily deflected the attacks, before Sun was joined by Blake.

"He's mine!" she shouted, rushing past Sun in a fury.

She tried to end the fight quickly, but Roman was still too skilled and managed to drive her back before sending her flying back with his cane

Torchwick fired another shot, and Blake barely avoided the crate that crashed down between herself and Sun.

* * *

Ren had spotted a five-man squad of White Fang soldiers pursuing a Blonde-haired Monkey Faunus who he could only assume was the boy the young woman from Mistral had been looking for. He'd quickly intercepted them while the faunus boy had rushed back to the main battle. Ren had managed to deal with four of them easily enough, but the big one who Ren could only assume was their leader was giving him trouble.

He was a ferocious looking man with a mask covering his whole face and a large chainsaw-sword. Ren was faster, but his opponent was still fast enough to keep Ren in his sights, and his weapon was big enough to deflect the majority of storm flowers shots. Ren moved in for close range combat, attempting to cut away and get in some point-blank shots.

He dove between his enemies legs and ducked and kicked his enemy in the back of his leg, bringing him to one knee, then leaped into the air, bringing his foot down in a brutal ax kick. He was shocked when that very leg was seized and he found himself hoisted into the air, before being brought down brutally into the concrete, before the chainsaw blade struck him in the chest and threw him into a container.

Ren tried to rise but was too dazed, as his opponent stood over him, preparing to bring his blade down on Ren's neck

* * *

"Hey!"

Roman looked up from executing the monkey faunus to see a familiar little girl with a familiar red cape on top of a shipping container.

"Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Penny turned to Ruby in confusion "Ruby, are these people your friends?"

"Penny, get back!"

"LOOK OUT!" Ruby suddenly found herself shoved aside by Cinder, catching the fire dust that Torchwick had intended for her.

"CINDER!" Penny and Pyrrha cried, not noticing the look of alarmed confusion that crossed Roman's face.

Penny, Pyrrha, and Ruby all looked down in fury at the criminal, and all leaped down to engage him. Penny and Pyrrha quickly found themselves dealing with multiple White Fang goons, who managed to hold them back for a time despite not being able to lay a hand on Pyrrha and being overwhelmed by the swords which Ruby swore had come from Penny's back. Ruby, however, found herself fighting the two Albains, and was quickly overwhelmed by their teamwork and experience. It was all she could do to avoid the two of them, despite her advanced reach, whenever she attempted to strike one, another was there to strike her.

Finally, Corsac managed to seize her and held his blade to her neck.

"STAND DOWN" shouted Fennec, standing next to his brother "or the child dies".

Pyrrha and Penny both looked in alarm, and Pyrrha reluctantly dropped her weapons, while Penny's swords clattered to the ground.

"Blake!" called Corsac "I'm assuming this girl is one of your friends! Come on out!"

Blake felt her legs moving ahead of her mind. 'they'll only kill you too!' it was screaming at her, but at that moment, she didn't care.

Suddenly, Blake heard an explosion and an enraged scream from behind her and turned to so a flash of blonde hair and Red eyes rush past her towards the Albains. Corsac attempted to shove his blade into Ruby's throat, only to find a black aura surrounding the blade, preventing him from moving it. He dropped it and began defending himself from Yang's assault. Fennec and Ruby joined to fight, and it became a battle between siblings.

Blake turned to see Roman attempting to flee, and rushed to cut him off. Torchwick snarled as she leaped in front of him, and began brutally swinging with his cane, forcing Blake onto the defensive. She suddenly found herself being propelled away from a particularly nasty blow by a black glyph and was joined in her assault by Weiss. Blake was shocked by this for a moment but then joined the fray. Torchwick barely kept up with the two, parrying and dodging between the two.

* * *

Instead of a chainsaw tearing through his neck, Ren heard the grind of metal against metal, and looked up to see Jaune in front of him with his shield raised. He tilted the shield so the blade skidded off it and on the ground. Jaune then brought Crocea Mors down on the faunus's wrists to knock his weapon from his hands. He then brought the sword around in a backhanded strike which sent the large man back several feet and caused his aura to crackle.

The man roared in frustration and tackled Jaune to the ground, knocking Crocea Mors from his grip, and attempted to bring his fist into Jaune's jaw, only to meet his shield instead. Jaune got his feet under the man's ribs and shoved him onto his back. The Faunus attempted to get to his weapon, only for Jaune to leap onto his back and lock in a sleeper hold. Jaune tried to pull him further from his weapon, but the faunus rose to his full height, leaving Jaune unable to get a foothold and slowly continued to struggle towards his weapon.

"Tuck you're head!" Ren shouted as he swept the mans legs from behind, sending the two crashing to the ground. Jaune had the sense to listen, and maintained his grip despite the air nearly being knocked from his lungs.

As Ren tore off the man's mask to reveal a pair of tusks protruding from his mouth, he thought he saw Jaune's right hand (the one applying pressure to the back of his enemies head) seeming to absorb light from his opponent. Ren shrugged at that and began delivering straight rights to the enemies face, Finally breaking his aura with the third blow, before the man managed to shove Ren away with the arm that wasn't struggling to remove Jaune's hold.

As Ren stumbled back to his feet, he heard a sickening crunch, and looked up to see the man at a gasping Jaune's feet, his neck twisted at a horrible angle. Ren looked and caught a glimpse of fear in Jaune's eyes, before they were replaced with determination.

"Let's go" he commanded steadily.

Ren looked at the man's body then back to Jaune, then followed silently.

* * *

Yang continued to attack Corsac but found his strength too much even for her. Fortunately, Ruby had managed to keep him distracted enough while also holding off Fennec so he couldn't focus too much on beating her. But the two sisters were clearly outmatched by the older and more experienced huntsmen. As were Blake and Weiss, whose teamwork was slowly giving way to Roman Torchwick's experience.

But the four were still holding out long enough for the brothers to begin retreating, since Penny, Pyrrha, and Nora had managed to defeat most of their forces, and would soon be ready to deal with them. Things looked up even more when Ren and Jaune joined the fray, Ren making quick work of several soldiers, while Jaune stayed close to Pyrrha and called orders to organize the attacks.

Torchwick finally broke away from the heiress and the Faunus long enough to order the Albains back to a parked bullhead, before ordering the remaining two bullheads to open fire on all combatants, White Fang and students alike. Everyone ran for cover as the two ships began to fire.

"They've got us pinned down!" Ruby cried into her headset.

"I could take down one of them!" Pyrrha called "but someone would have to deflect fire from two ships for me."

"I can take the other!" came Penny's cheerful response.

"Works for me!" Jaune called as he tossed his shield to Yang who had taken cover next to Penny and took Akuo from Pyrrha. "Let's do it!"

Penny charged from behind the crates with Yang covering her from the bullets, and her swords pierced the side of one bullhead while Pyrrha held her hands out to the second bullhead, while Jaune defended her. The two ships swayed as the two girls dragged them, Penny, with her body, Pyrrha with her arms, until Penny finally managed to bring hers down into a stack of crates while Pyrrha brought hers down into the bay.

Ruby looked on in shock at Pyrrha's power. "Uh, what?"

"Whoa, you can control poles..."

"No, you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism!"

"Magnets are cool, too..."

As Torchwick flew away with the Albains, he couldn't help but mutter "These kids just keep getting weirder."

* * *

Everyone quietly sat by giving their statements as the police surveyed the situation. In addition to the police, Professor's Port and Oobleck had also arrived to check on the students and scold them where necessary, though the scoldings were fairly mild, and both of them bore looks of barely contained pride in their students. Around 20 White Fang soldiers had been apprehended, most of them taken out of commission by Penny and Pyrrha. There had also been a single casualty, the large lieutenant Jaune had killed.

Jaune watched the body being carted off, his face unreadable. Pyrrha approached her leader with a look of concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know" Jaune sighed in exasperation "I feel like I should feel worse, but I didn't see any other way of stopping him, he was breaking my hold. I don't feel good or proud, but I don't feel guilty, even though I think I should…"

"A man is dead." Professor Oobleck supplied gently. "Death should never be celebrated, but sometimes it is necessary. Because that man died, you and Mr. Ren are alive. You don't have to weep, but I'd be concerned if you didn't understand the gravity of what's happened."

He took Jaune's wrist and looked at his hand. Despite his confusion, the boy's hand was steady.

"You did what you had to do for your teammate. And you didn't waste any time feeling sorry for yourself. Team JNPR is lucky to have you as a leader."

Jaune glanced over at Ren with that declaration. As the professor moved on, Ren sat next to Jaune. "You've got the strength and conditioning to be a great huntsman."

Pyrrha nodded "You've got a great foundation already! A lot of times if two opponents are easily matched, the one with the most endurance will come out on top!"

Jaune shrugged "just because nobody taught me how to fight doesn't mean I couldn't get into shape. It's pretty much impossible to not build muscle growing up in Vale's agricultural district."

He then turned to Ren with a look of determination "Look, I know I only beat that guy because you wore him down, and he was slower and easier for me to hit. And you were right, this isn't a game. People die in our line of work. But I promise you, nobody on our team is dying on my watch. All of you are making it to graduation… even if I don't."

Ren met Jaune's gaze. "You can't guarantee something like that. But I believe that you'll try."

Ren gripped Jaune's hand, accepting his leaders promise.

* * *

Meanwhile, Blake and Sun were being accosted by several police officers wanting to bring them in for further questioning. Some of them even had handcuffs. Professor Port had prepared to reprimand the officers, but Weiss beat him to the punch.

"If it weren't for them you'd still be chasing your tails trying to figure out who was committing the robberies and you're kingdom would be out one boat-load of dust!"

"True, but we need to know how a couple of Faunus knew the White Fang would be here."

"Because it was their most likely target! And I don't see you wanting to take the rest of us in! Just the Faunus! So is this a race thing, or are you just mad that they did your job better than you?!"

"Ms. Schnee!" Port called "While I'm proud to see you standing up for your teammate, there is no need to be tossing out accusations like that."

The professor pulled the officers aside to resolve the situation while Blake and Weiss faced each other.

Weiss finally sighed "the company my father is currently running is not the one my grandfather started. I'm trying to change it for the better, starting by serving as a huntress, just as my grandfather served as a huntsman before making his fortune."

Blake nodded, "The White Fang has gone too far. That's why I left. I want to gain freedom and rights for my people the right way, not the fast way."

Weiss smiled, "I'm sorry for what I said about Faunus. It's not fair to let the White Fang make all of them look like monsters."

Blake grinned "My father once considered you're family friends of the Faunus."

Weiss tilted her head in surprise "who's your father?"

Blake looked around sheepishly, "Guess we don't need any more secrets. My last name isn't Bellamy, it's Belladonna. My father is Ghira Belladonna."

* * *

Ozpin watched the live feed of his students on the docks. Glynda watched disapprovingly.

"Two weeks in and our new students are already getting into trouble."

"They've taken action." Ozpin replied, "And now we know who our enemies pawns are."

"Are they ready for this kind of trouble?" Glynda inquired "Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc particularly barely made it out alive."

"Mr. Arc's foundations are strong. He simply requires proper direction and molding."

"And Ms. Rose? She may have Silver Eyes, but she has no idea what that means. And she's still no match for a Maiden."

Ozpin zoomed in on the girl. "Given time, she will be. I'm confident she will succeed where all others have failed."

* * *

Torchwick and the Albains were exhausted and frustrated as they returned to their base.

Suddenly Roman heard a familiar voice behind him, "How very disappointing, Roman."

Roman turned in surprise, raising his hands defensively "whoa, hey! He he, look, I promise, I did NOT mean to shoot you back there!"

Cinder simply chuckled "Of course not, I meant to take that attack."

Corsac raised his eyebrow "An odd strategy."

Cinder continued to grin "It's amazing how a simple act of sacrifice buys you so much trust."

* * *

 **AN: So because this is the last chapter of the Volume, I'll just give my explanations for this chapter here.**

 **First of all, Sun and Blake have to use more geurilla tactics while fighting the White Fang, because they're basically trained mercenaries, so they shouldn't just go down like dominoes. Also, it makes Pyrrha and Penny look awesome if they're able to beat most of them. That's also why they both took down a Bullhead a piece. Makes the eventual fight between them that much more exciting since we know their abilities are comparable.**

 **Weiss and Blake making up by fighting alongside eachother, and then acknowledging that the organizations they were defending earlier are no longer the ones they once believed in makes for a better reconciliation than "I don't care."**

 **And I just like the idea of the two sets of siblings fighting. And letting us know that Yang isn't invincible. There are absolutely bigger fish than her.**

 **Now to be honest, I'm a little iffy on Jaune killing Banesaw here. I'm not one of those edgelords who thinks making the show darker and edgier will fix it (and I think anyone who does is stupid and hopefully sterile) but I do think Jaune being willing to take a life would show that he's aware of and willing to do what the life of a huntsman will require of him, which is the main thing that frustrated Ren in the previous chapter. Plus I think it's a nice bookend and parallel to Ruby, since at the beginning she made it clear that she knew of the dangers of being a huntress, and Jaune's now made it clear that he knows what huntsmen occasionally have to be willing to do. But maybe it's a little too much for Volume 1.**

 **But the main ideas here are that Jaune has his teams back, which Ren appreciates, and he's not completely helpless. And so we're clear, Jaune's didn't magically become stronger than Ren because of the power of friendship here, Banesaw is just the kind of enemy that Jaune's better equipped to handle. Ren's fast, but he's not a heavy-hitter, while Jaune's clumsy, but strong, which makes him a good match for a bigger and slower guy like this.**

 **Also, my head-canon is that Jaune grew up in the agricultural district of Vale, which is why he's actually pretty strong (even in canon he has some impressive feats of raw strength). I also like the idea that he's got the build and conditioning of a huntsman, all he actually lacks is proper training on how to use those tools (think Disney's Hercules). This answer's one of those things that's always annoyed me about a lot of shows, where someone who's always wanted to be something awesome seems to have never hit the gym at all. Even Izuku Midoriya is guilty of this (he's book smart, but apparently never even saw a weight set until All-Might came along.)**

 **And again, just letting the audience know that Silver Eyes are an important thing, and there are things called Maidens.**

 **And kudos to anyone who can guess who Cinder's paraphrasing (hint: he's proof that Miles Luna has no excuse for writing villains as flat and disappointing as Adam and Cinder have become.)**

 **And that's Volume 1! We've actually managed to give some development to characters who were neglected in canon (Yang, Ren, and Nora) we've made Jaune's story hopefully feel less invasive, and we've just worked out some of the kinks here and there. If anyone has suggestions on how I can improve my dialogue that would be appreciated, I think that's my main weakness right now. Hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to Volume 2.**


	8. Best Day Ever-Welcome to Beacon

**AN: Sorry for the wait, computer trouble. Volume 2! First two episodes in one.**

* * *

Tukson felt his aura shatter as the silver haired boys boot halted his attack. He barely had time to recover before the boot hovered over his skull.

"W-wait!"

*CRUNCH!*

* * *

"Man, that's harsh."

Sun continued to talk excitedly to his friend, ignoring the glares he and his tail received. "I know, we were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome."

Neptune winced at his friends description of his antics, "Nice!"

"Right? And the crazy thing is, her dads Ghira Belladonna, the war hero! But that's a secret, okay?"

"Got it."

"And not a, "I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back secret", I'm talking secret secret."

Neptune reassured his friend "Whoa, chill out, man, okay? I got it. I got it!"

"You better." Sun asserted "I just don't want to screw this up, you know? The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys."

Neptune smirked, "None taken."

"They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?"

Neptune gave his best "cool-guy" pose. "Dude."

"Good point."

* * *

Yang threw her turkey's, only to have them swatted aside by a lunch tray Jaune used as a shield. She shoved her fists in two more turkey's only to be met by a baguette wielding Jaune. He landed three good blows before Yang met it in midair and shattered it. She let loose a barrage of fists at Jaune. He used his tray to black every blow until finally the tray split in half and a second fist sent Jaune flying.

Nora charged in to take Jaune's place. Meanwhile, Ren and Blake fought one another to a standstill, Ren barely keeping up with Blake's semblance. Ruby tried to flatten Pyrrha with a lunch tray, only to be swatted aside. She and Weiss attempted to double team Pyrrha, who finally managed to send Weiss flying into a pillar, much to Ruby's exaggerated despair.

Nora had managed to send Yang flying. Ren retreated as Pyrrha sent a storm of soda cans at Blake, incapacitating her. Ruby looked at her fallen comrades.

"Let's try that special move." She muttered.

Ruby began to spin towards Team JNPR, kicking up a whirlwind until-

*SPLAT!*

Pyrrha had sent a pie into her face. The tiny reaper faltered and slowed enough to kill her whirlwind, but didn't stop as she stumbled through. Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha all dove out of her way, as Jaune recovered from Yang's assault, only to have Ruby collide with him, sending them both into JNPR's desk fort.

The rest of JNPR looked down at the two fallen leaders, both with stars around their heads, as an irate Glynda Goodwitch marched in.

* * *

 **"** **Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!"**

Cinder grinned, figuring there was no harm in sharing. "You said it yourself, dust prices through the roof, the town running scared. Vale's defenses have been crippled, and faith in Ozpin is diminishing. And even better, Ironwood's on his way to Vale."

Roman paled at that name "Ironwood? You expect me to pull robberies with his army patrolling the streets?"

Cinder shook her head "They won't be patrolling. Ozpin won't allow them within the Kingdoms airspace. Besides, we're done with Dust."

"O-okay, then what now?"

"We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."

"Coordinates?"

"We're proceeding to phase two. Getting Ironwood's army into Vale."

* * *

"I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends, however, a small fleet outside my kingdom has me concerned."

"Well, concern is what brought them here."

"I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-"

"Oz, you and I both know why I brought that army. If I'd had my way they'd be patrolling the kingdom looking for Torchwick."

Ozpin took a sip of coffee at that. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this to find one White Fang cell are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true..."

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully. It's the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest that you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."

Ironwood glared, "I'm just being cautious."

"As am I." Ozpin reassured "Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can."

"Believe me, I am. But ask yourself this: Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?"

Ozpin gripped his cane tighter "I hope they never have to."

* * *

Jaune had finished his homework and his comic book and decided to check in on Team RWBY's game.

"Hey! Can I play?"

"Sorry Jaune, we've already got 4 people."

"Besides" Weiss snarked, "this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt that you possess."

"Uhh, you attacked your own naval fleet 2 turns ago."

Jaune continued to push "Bring it on, Snow Angel! I'll have you know that I have been told that I am a natural born leader!"

Weiss tried to get some of her heat back "By who? Your mother?"

Jaune smirked "And Pyrrha-"

"Hello again!"

"-Oobleck, Ruby, and Ozpin implied it by making me a leader-"

"And you said he was a good tactician that one time." Ruby chimed in, ignoring Weiss's glare.

Jaune nodded at Ruby "See? Come on, let me play your hand for a turn!"

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!"

"'Sup losers." Sun strolled in with his friend from earlier.

"Hey Sun!" Ruby greeted the simian.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake... Ice Queen."

Weiss groaned "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

"I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my teammate."

Neptune looked at the game incredulously "Uhh, aren't libraries for reading?"

"Thank you!" came Ren's response.

Sun waved off his partner "Shut up. Don't be a nerd."

"Geh, geh, geh, geh! 'Intellectual', okay?" was Neptune's defense "Thank you. I'm Neptune."

"So Neptune," Weiss said sultrily "where are you from?"

"Haven." Neptune responded flirtatiously "And I don't believe I've caught your name, snow angel."

"Um, I'm Weiss."

"Are you kidding me!?" Jaune groaned.

"Pleasure to meet you."

Sun attempted to make conversation with Blake "I never took you as the board game playing type."

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later.

Nora shrugged "Women."

"Dibs on taking her place!" Jaune called, taking Blakes seat.

"Is that a strategy game?" came a voice behind Sun and Neptune. The group turned to see Cinder approaching.

"Yeah!" Ruby responded "It's a good way to hone tactical and strategy skills!"

"Then maybe I should lead team RWBY" Yang smirked, ignoring her sisters annoyed growl.

"My sisters used to play this all the time." Cinder said wistfully "But they would never let me play with them."

"Maybe they thought you were too young" Jaune supplied.

"You can take my place!" Weiss offered "I trust you to take care of my armies" she smirked in while Jaune groaned "Oh, come on!"

"Thank you!" Cinder smiled innocently "go easy on the new girl, okay?"

* * *

"As you know, in order to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world. You are one of the few that did not. And you passed the exam with flying colors."

"I had alternative training." Blake responded vaguely "I spent five years learning how to fight the hard way."

Ozpin nodded respectfully "I admire your drive. And I am proud to run a school that now accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, Human... Faunus...

He glanced at her uncovered ears.

"It's nice to see you without that bow."

Blake nodded "Everyone whose opinion matters to me already knows what I am. And they've accepted me. There's no more point in hiding it."

* * *

" _Go easy on the new girl!_ " Yang groaned "We should have never let them play!"

"You're just mad 'cuz Jaune and Cinder beat you!" Ruby teased "See, if you had just attacked when I told you none of this would have happened."

"I can't believe they're still going at it." Yang mused.

"Can I, talk to you all about something?" Everyone turned in surprise to Blake.

"It's about time!" Weiss stated "I was about to ask what was going on myself. Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody!"

"Uh, have you met Blake?"

Weiss waved Yang off "Which I get is kind of your thing, but you've been doing it more than usual! Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong! So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong?"

Blake took a moment for Weiss to step out of her dramatic pose before answering. "I've been doing some investigating into Torchwick and the White Fang and I need your guys help to figure it out."

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it." Yang argued.

* * *

 **Omake:**

Pyrrha continued to observe the ongoing war between Jaune and Cinder, impressed with Jaune's keen strategic mind, and happy that Cinder seemed to be enjoying herself. Vacuo had made a miraculous comeback under Cinder's leadership, but Vale's defenses had held strong and advanced steadily by Jaune's steady guidance. The two continued to war, Cinder's daring risk taking against Jaune's practical planning and use of defense.

In the end however, Cinder's daring strategies broke through Jaune's defenses, and he finally fell to her cunning.

"Good game!" Jaune offered his hand to Cinder, which she took, shocked at having finally one, and at the impressive struggle Jaune had made for her.

"You too." she responded seemingly lost in thought.

While Jaune packed up the game, Cinder headed back to her dorm, where she was joined by Emerald and Mercury.

"Looks like The Arc gave you a real run for your money" Mercury commented.

Emerald scoffed "guess he had to have something going for him, 'cuz it definitely wasn't talent in a fight."

"Given time, he may be a threat." Cinder mused, mostly to herself.

Emerald and Mercury both looked surprised at that.

"Should we… put him on the watch list?" Emerald asked hesitantly.

"No." Cinder said quickly. "I doubt if he'll last long enough to become a threat to us."

* * *

 **AN: And that was the first two episodes. Next update will come sooner, I promise.**


	9. A Minor Hiccup-Painting the Town

**AN: Time for some explanations!**

 **So I already touched on this earlier, but I want to talk about aura really quick. Let's call a spade a spade, and acknowledge Aura for what it is: plot armor. Literal, plot armor. But you know what? I'm okay with that. Or I would be, if it was actually utilized correctly. Of the eight(?) major onscreen deaths we've seen in the series, and the two dismemberments, only one of each of them has followed a characters actual visual loss of aura. Aura feels like a thing that just randomly disappears when the writers need it to be there. But if we actually see characters lose their aura, and then die, then that could send a nice subliminal message to the audience whenever they see aura disappear, that "oh no, the last few times we saw characters lose their aura, they wound up dead right after, this means the characters are in real danger" and it increases the dramatic tension. So yeah, no major deaths in this series without loss of aura first.**

 **Pretty much already explained this, but Blake had no reason to keep the bow after Volume one. Honestly, it was kind of hypocritical.**

 **In the Volume two directors commentary, Monty unwittingly admitted that the only reason Jaune got knocked out of the food fight was essentially because Monty was being lazy. Okay, I'm paraphrasing, and I know, "Monty? Lazy? Blasphemy!" but what else would you call having a character whose supposed to be improving and then actively avoiding opportunities to show his improvement? So we're giving Jaune a bit of action here by having him hold his own against Yang for a bit, which is better than I showed him doing in his fight with Dove.**

 **And Team JNPR wins the food fight, because Team JNPR has Pyrrha Nikos, the invincible girl on it. If you're going to give her that nickname, don't have her losing at anything! Not even a "just-for-funzies" food fight. And since some people asked, Ruby was running in a straight line, and Pyrrha magnetized the tin tray the pie was in.**

 **Cinder's plan for overthrowing Beacon was honestly pretty brilliant. It took advantage of Ironwood and Ozpin's disparate personalities, once it picked up steam there was essentially no stopping it, and overall, it was pretty simple and effective. Unfortunately, the canon series didn't do it justice. At several points it feels like Cinder's making it up as she goes along, which means MK &M were making it up as they went along, and part of that is Cinder's refusal to even kind of explain it. The dust robberies in particular felt pointless. So I'm fixing that. Ironwood coming was an intentional goal of Cinder's.**

 **Again, Jaune's supposed to be smart, so we're reinforcing that here, instead of just making him look stupid and lazy. And again, CInder hanging out with the gang makes her eventual betrayal hurt more, and I also figured I'd slip in some hints of her backstory (yes, she has an actual backstory in this). Spoiler Alert: That thing about her sisters wasn't a lie. And she's doing some scouting.**

 **Blake had two BS lines in the canon version of her interview with Ozpin. The first one was claiming that anyone who lives outside of the kingdoms has to be a fighter. Volumes 4 and 5 prove that to be BS when they have to train citizens of Menagerie, and RNJR has to take out the Geist, while Ren's father is the only person fighting the Nuckelavee. The second one was claiming that she wants people to acknowledge her for who she is, not what she is, since M &K (and by extension Blake) clearly expect us to pity and like her based purely on her minority and victim status. And again, doesn't make sense for her to keep the bow.**

 **Blake complains about nobody doing anything about Torchwick or the White Fang, but we have no evidence at this point that she's trying to do anything about it either. Again, kinda hypocritical of her.**

 **On with the show! Please read the AN at the end of this chapter before leaving comments.**

* * *

"And, uh um, I-I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie, if you wanna make the trip to Vale. I hear it's awesome. Aaaand maybe after that, we could study together? I mean, we're both pretty smart, we'd probably be great together- U-uh I mean...

Weiss continued to tune Jaune out as the bell rang, much to Professor Ports embarrassment.

"Weiss? Did you hear me?"

"Can't" Weiss responded offhandedly, "hanging with the team this weekend."

* * *

"SUN!"

"How did you get up there?"

"Ah, it's easy, I do it all the time!"

"You do what?!"

"I climb trees all the time" Sun rephrased, hopping into the room. "Besides, your door was too crowded."

"Huh?" Ruby tilted her head.

"YOU SOLD US OUT YOU SONOFA-!" Jaune yelled from the other side as Weiss threw the door open and Team JNPR spilled in.

"So" Sun continued, ignoring Jaune's rant "are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"We are going to investigate the situation, as a team." Blake reaffirmed.

Ruby tried to make them see reason "Sorry everyone. we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."

"Psh! That's dumb! We should always get friends involved! That's why I brought Neptune!"

* * *

As Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha headed towards the library, Pyrrha couldn't help but express her admiration for Vale's architecture.

"It's really neat that Vale managed to convert their Transmit tower into their academy's center. Haven's is on the academies grounds, but it's a completely separate building."

"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss responded proudly.

"That was the first one, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"Correct." Weiss nodded "Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

Ruby couldn't resist the opportunity to tease her partner "Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!"

"Don't be a pest!" Weiss snapped "And why did all three of us have to come anyway? I appreciate the company, but it's just gonna be you two looking over my shoulder."

Pyrrha smiled "I think Ruby just wanted the three of us to hang out."

"GROUP PHOTO!" Ruby was so excited she dropped her scroll.

"Oh." a familiar girl picked up the scroll "You dropped this!"

"Penny?!" Ruby exclaimed.

Penny blanched in recognition.

"Where have you been?" Pyrrha asked, "You disappeared after the attack on the docks!"

"S-Sorry. I think you're confused!" Penny's lie was interrupted by a hiccup "I've got to go!" She quickly hurried off.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked.

Ruby and Pyrrha both exchanged looks. "I don't know, but we're going to find out! Go make your call! We'll meet up with you later!"

"Wait!" Weiss called as the two ran off. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt at being ditched for the ginger.

* * *

"I... was asked not to talk to you two. Or Cinder. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Anybody, really."

Pyrrha raised a brow at that. "Was your father that upset?"

"No, it wasn't my father..." Penny suddenly pause as she noticed an interview taking place on a large screen in the middle of Vale square. Ruby and Pyrrha turned to see General Ironwood in a interview with a reporter. On the screen behind them was an AK-130, the standard security mech that had been a common sight in Atlas owned transports for years.

"... The kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation. So, we are replacing the 130's with a new model, the Atlesian Knight 200!" the screen changed to show a sleeker, shinier model.

Ironwood continued "In addition, we'll be including a new form of heavy hitters, the Atlesian Paladin. We're rapidly making automated models, but for now, these models are operated by a single pilot." the screen again flickered to show a large mech.

The interviewer continued to applaud, before asking Ironwood her first question. "Thank you General. Now, these machines are designed to attack any grimm on sight, and provide security. How do you respond to claims that these machines will eventually make the Huntsman profession irrelevant."

Ruby and Pyrrha both gave the screen their undivided attention at that, while Penny began to shuffle nervously, clearly uncomfortable.

"That has never been the goal" Ironwood dismissed, "these machines are built to protect and attack. We point them at a target, tell them which to do, and they carry it out. They can't reason, track, anticipate, or learn the way huntsmen can. They are simply built for defense and attack. Our scientists are still dedicated to making the best models possible, while our academy is still dedicated to training the best huntsmen and huntresses in the kingdoms."

"Well" the interviewer responded "for some people, defending and attacking against the Grimm are all that really matter."

While Ruby and Pyrrha tried to think of what to make of that, Penny noticed to Atlesian soldiers walking by.

"Ruby, Pyrrha? Maybe we should go somewhere else."

The two girls in question noticed the two soldiers just as Penny began to run.

"Penny! Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby cried after her friend.

"Go after her!" Pyrrha pushed Ruby in the direction Penny ran. "I'll catch up!"

As Ruby proceeded after Penny, Pyrrha turned on her cheesiest "celebrity grin" and pretended to accidentally walk into the soldiers paths.

"~Oh! Hello!~" she sang "Yes, I am that Pyrrha Nikos."

"Ma'am, please-"

"No need to be so formal, Pyrrha Nikos always has time for her fans."

"That's not-"

"My autograph?! Why sure!" Pyrrha pulled a sharpie from her pocket and proceeded to sign one of the protesting soldiers helmets.

The soldiers finally managed to get away from her just in time for Pyrrha to hear a loud crash in the direction Ruby and Penny had run. Pyrrha paled and vaulted through several alleys, easily outpacing the soldiers in time to see Ruby in the middle of the road, with Penny in front of her, and a dust truck with two large dents in the front.

Penny looked terrified, and began running again.

"Penny! Come back!" Ruby called, chasing after the frightened girl, while Pyrrha followed.

"Penny!" Ruby finally got Penny to stop "Please! What is going on?! Why are you running? How did you do that?!"

"I-I can't! Everything's fine!" Penny began to hiccup "I-I don't want to talk about it!"

"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!"

"No! No, no! You wouldn't understand..."

"Let us try." Pyrrha stepped forward soothingly "You can trust us."

Penny looked at the two torn between her fear of what they'd think, and her desire to tell someone the truth. "You're my friends, right? You promise you're my friends?!

Ruby nodded softly "We promise."

Penny calmed down, and opened her hands "Ruby... Pyrrha... I'm not a real girl."

Penny's palms had been peeled away, but instead of blood and bone, was sleek steel. Ruby and Pyrrha both looked on in shock, until Ruby responded with the only words that came to her mind.

"Oh."

"Most girls are born, but I was made." Penny explained "I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura. I'm not real..."

She hanged her head at that last part, preparing herself to lose two of the only friends she'd ever had.

Ruby and Pyrrha both exchanged looks, then both reached out and took one of Penny's mechanical hands.

"Of course you are." Ruby assured her friend "You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than us?"

Penny looked at them both in shock "I don't... um..."

"You're special, and different." Pyrrha added "But that doesn't mean you aren't real. Some people may forget it at times, but you're a person like anyone else."

Penny looked at the two girls in awe "You're... taking this extraordinarily well."

Ruby continued to encourage the android "You're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart, and a soul; I can feel it!"

Pyrrha nodded "Especially if you have an aura. That's proof that you're real."

Penny cried out in joy and scooped the two girls up in a back-breaking hug. "You're the best friends anyone could have!"

"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!" Ruby groaned sarcastically.

Penny released the two and began gushing again. "Oh, he's very sweet! My father's the one that built me! I'm sure you would love him!"

Pyrrha suddenly felt questions flowing into her mind "He built you all by himself?"

Penny nodded, apparently not considering anything strange "Well, almost! He had some help from Mr. Ironwood."

"The General?!" Ruby asked "Wait... Is that why those soldiers were after you?"

Penny nodded again "They like to protect me, too!"

Ruby raised a brow at that "They don't think you can protect yourself?"

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet... One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament."

Ruby and Pyrrha exchanged a look. Pyrrha was becoming more and more concerned by this idea.

"Penny, what are you talking about?" Ruby asked "Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace!"

Penny tilted her head in confusion "That's not what Mr. Ironwood said..."

"Check down here!" the trio was surprised by the shouts of the soldiers.

Penny quickly hoisted Ruby over her head "You have to hide!"

Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at Ruby's protests "Penny, wait! What are you doing? You don't have to go with them! I can help you!"

Pyrrha took Penny by the arm after she threw Ruby in the dumpster "Will you be okay? They're not hurting you, right?"

Penny nodded reassuringly. "It's okay. They're not bad people; I just don't want to get you two in trouble."

Pyrrha conceded and hopped in the dumpster with Ruby.

* * *

Jaune watched Blake and Sun head into the warehouse through his binoculars, before hearing a loud groan in his headset.

"Why did we get the boring lookout job?" Nora moaned from her rooftop.

"Because none of us can pass for Faunus, Jaune and I aren't exactly the club going types, and I don't think that club will survive Yang AND you Nora." Ren responded to his partner plainly.

"Well why couldn't we go with Ruby, Pyrrha and Weiss?" Nora whined.

"Because I doubt Weiss wants five people looking over her shoulder." Ren responded immediately.

"Honestly," Jaune chimed in "I'm pretty sure Ruby just wanted to hang with Pyrrha and her partner."

"So why didn't you go with them?" Nora teased her leader "You could've made it a date~"

"Nora!" Jaune blushed "We're on an important mission here! I'm not going to use that as an opportunity to get with Weiss."

Nora rolled her eyes "Not exactly what I meant."

"Wait, what?"

"You really are dense." Came a new voice over the radio.

"Oh! Weiss!" Jaune tried not to sound too excited. "You girls already finished you're part of the mission, huh?"

"I finished it." Weiss emphasized while positioning herself on top of her own warehouse. "Ruby and Pyrrha ran into Penny and went after her since she was acting weird."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jaune tried to sound sympathetic "If I'd known that would happen I'd have come along!"

Ren and Nora both rolled their eyes at Jaune's attempted sympathy.

Meanwhile, Sun, who was also tuned into the conversation turned to Blake who stood next to him. "Does he not realize that Pyrr-"

"SHH!" Blake hissed before directing her orders to the others on the frequency "Cut the chatter you guys, Sun and I are going in."

* * *

"How can you not know?" Yang continued to push the bartender.

"I haven't talked to him! I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here. He paid up front, I lent him my men, and had to bail them out two nights later!"

"The guy borrows you're men for a robbery and you didn't bother asking what the robbery was for?" Neptune asked, trying to be helpful.

"at the time I assumed it was just for the dust." Junior insisted "Guys like Torchwick can't exactly walk into a store and buy the stuff you know."

Junior noticed Yang's growing frustration and decided to try and stem off her fury. "Look, I've known Roman Torchwick for a long time. None of this sounds like his way of doing things."

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Well for one thing, he's never worked with the White Fang before. He hates those anima-" He stopped when he saw Yang's eyes begin to redden "those people. And he's never drawn this kind of publicity before. Definitely not the kind that would get Ironwood's attention."

"What are you talking about?" Neptune scoffed "Ironwood's here for the tournaments."

"Oh really?" Junior condescended "Then where are the headmasters from Haven or Shade? He's here to find Roman, and whoever's giving him orders."

Yang raised a brow at that "You think Torchwick's got a boss?"

"Like I said, none of this fits Roman's M.O. So even if you could catch him, don't be surprised if you find out that someone else was pulling his strings."

* * *

Sun and Blake burst through the warehouse window while Sun screamed into his headset "They've got a robot! And it's big! Really big!"

Jaune winced while trying to talk over the faunus "Sun, just calm down!"

"That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!"

Suddenly, the side of the warehouse burst open and an Atlesian Paladin came through.

Weiss paled at the massive behemouth "You guys, we can't let that thing leave this area."

"I'm more concerned about not getting crushed right now!" Sun called.

"Think about it!" Jaune commanded "An Atlesian mech with the White Fang's symbol crashing through Downtown Vale? Never mind the collateral damage or international turmoil, imagine the panic and fear! It'd bring the Grimm in droves!"

"So what's the plan?" Blake asked. "It's not just the mech, we've got at least 20 White Fang soldiers in there."

"Team RWBY will take the mech!" Ruby called, having just arrived with Pyrrha. "Sun, Neptune, and JNPR will keep the soldiers off our backs!"

"Fine by me!" called Weiss as she landed in front of the Mech, sending up a sheet of ice, tripping it up and sending it sprawling. She was soon joined in her battle by the rest of her team, while JNPR charged a large group of soldiers.

Jaune was mostly content to deal with the handful of new recruits. A particularly bold one went to club him with a wooden board, which he swiftly cut in half, and then proceeded to knock the man out with the pommel of his sword. Jaune was shocked by how quickly he went down, realizing he must not have had aura. He turned to the four remaining recruits.

"I suggest you all leave, especially if you don't have aura."

"We're not afraid of you, human!" said a young woman with a lead pipe. She and two others rushed Jaune, who kept his sheild up and backed against a wall. He caught the woman's pipe on his sheild, and pushed back, knocking her into her two companions, who all fell in a heap. Jaune brefly hesitated, then sheathed his sword in his sheild, shrank it to scabbard form, and proceeded to club the three recruits on the head, trying not to do any permanent damage.

He'd finally finished off the woman when he felt what may have been a strong impact on the back of his head, were it not for his aura. He turned to see the final recruit, holding a bat. He was a grown man, with a pair of glasses over his mask, shaking in his boots. Jaune faked a lunge, and the man stumbled back, landing on his rear.

"Drop the bat, lose the mask, and go home."

The man was halfway out of the district before Jaune reached the rest of the fights, silently wondering, "This may be hypocritical, but why doesn't everyone have aura?"

Meanwhile, Sun and Neptune had tried to join the fight with the Soldiers, only to be halted by the Albain brothers. Currently, the two partners had managed to hold their own against the two brothers.

"you're a disgrace to you're own kind." Corsac growled to Sun.

"Hey!" called Neptune, "Don't you dare talk about my partner that way!"

He rushed the man, determined to defend his friends honor "He's the coolest Faunus I know! I mean, I only really know two faunus, but that's not because I don't like Faunus or anything, I just haven't really had the opportunity to get to know many of them, but I don't like, avoid them yaknow-"

"Just shut up an fight you huge nerd!" Sun called to his friend, figuring he'd embarassed himself enough.

At long last, the battle ended. Team RWBY destroyed the Paladin, though Torcwick was saved by a short girl with Pink and brown hair who Yang took an immediate disliking to, and the Albains had retreated from their fight with Sun and Neptune when the rest of their soldiers had either been defeated or retreated, and Pyrrha had begun to approach.

The ten friends all restrained their down enemies and cleared the area, before Weiss made an anonymous call to a "high ranking acquaintance" from Atlas, who she trusted to keep Ozpin informed. With that, they called it an exhausting night.

* * *

 **AN: I probably could have split these episodes into two chapters, but I got in the zone and had to keep going.**

 **So I'm going to get ahead of the "Pyrrha finding out about Penny" comments. I know that Pyrrha knowing Penny's secret is going to raise a lot of questions about PvP. I welcome all comments, questions, and reviews, and I appreciate the feedback. It's all very helpful.**

 **But please trust that I know what I'm doing. I've thought this through, and I don't want to spoil anything, but PvP will still happen, and I do have a plan to make it just as tense and dramatic as it was in canon.**


	10. Dance arc

**AN: Gonna be shorter explanations here.**

 **I like Jaune in Volume 2 and find the accusations of him harassing Weiss to be dumb, but still, "no" means no. So I changed up Weiss's response.**

 **A lot of people complain that Team JNPR stole the show from Team RWBY, but they really didn't do anything truly involved in the plot until the end of Volume 3. So I wanted to get them more involved.**

 **Also it's a chance for more interactions between Ruby and Pyrrha. Also, the location and placing of the CCT was super arbitrary and weird, and really inconsistent. So I tried to fix that by making it the Beacon tower, and located at the academy.**

 **So yes, Pyrrha knows about Penny. Don't worry, I'll make it work. But I liked this idea for a few things. I thought it'd be funny to see Pyrrha trying to use her celebrity status for something and being hilarious. I also feel like Pyrrha and Penny can kind of relate to each other. Both are treated like more than human, and having great tasks expected of them.**

 **And just because Team JNPR's involved doesn't mean they're front and center. And I like the little bit of Jaune trying to awkwardly flirt with Weiss.**

 **In canon, Yang's conversation with Junior just felt kind of pointless. We don't really know what she's asking him, so I changed it up to actually have them learn something useful.**

 **So I pretty much explained this, but the Atlesian Paladin smashing through a freeway should've brought the Grimm. That would be way more horrifying and fear inducing than a guy getting his leg broken and a girl getting accidentally bisected.**

 **And other than that, just wanted to show that Jaune isn't an amateur anymore, and Sun and Neptune are a good team and can hold their own with guys Ruby and Yang have fought. Power scaling!**

 **On to the dance arc! Won't be many changes to the Blake part of this arc because honestly, that was pretty much perfect.**

* * *

Jaune heard the buzzer sound as he went down. As he picked himself up he glanced at the scoreboard over the arena. His aura had dropped into the red, but he'd lasted almost 4 minutes, and Cardin's aura was well into the orange.

"You're continuing to show improvement Mr. Arc." Glynda Goodwitch supplied "continue improving at this rate, and you may actually help your team advance past the first round of the tournament."

Jaune accepted the faint praise while heading towards his team, returning Pyrrha's reassuring smile. He was learning to accept the small victories, even if he had yet to gain any literal ones in the classroom.

"Alright, we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" Glynda scanned the bleachers, her eyes falling on the half asleep Blake "Ms. Bellamy? You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you -"

"I'll do it." she was interrupted by the gray haired boy from Haven.

"Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent."

"I'll take you on!" Yang called from her section, "My fists versus you're feet! Everyone'll get a kick out of it!"

Mercury just scoffed at the bad pun while everyone else groaned "Actually, I wanna fight... her." He pointed directly at Pyrrha.

"Me?" Pyrrha was surprised, as most people avoided sparring with her.

He glanced at Yang's scowl. "Maybe some other time, blondie."

* * *

"All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day." Yang pushed at her sullen partner.

"It will be fun!" Weiss encouraged "Yang and I will make sure of it."

"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!"

Blake raised a brow at that "Excuse me?"

Weiss smiled proudly "I have a lot of experience with planning social events, and Yang has experience with the… uh… 'party scene'."

Yang continued, "So, Weiss and I asked Ozpin to let us plan the event. And now we can make sure you have the perfect night."

"And once it's all over" Weiss insisted "we'll return for our search, rested and ready."

"So what do ya think?" Ruby pushed hopefully.

"I think this is a colossal waste of time." Blake coldly responded as she left the room.

* * *

"Oh please. If you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress." Jaune laughed as he went back to his dorm, leaving a sullen Pyrrha behind.

Pyrrha began to follow after him, only to find her way blocked by Cinder, with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"As smart as he is, he's incredibly dense in some areas."

Pyrrha looked down, embarrassed. "I don't know what you mean!"

"Come on Pyrrha!" Cinder laughed "The only person who can't tell you've got it bad for Jaune, is Jaune."

Pyrrha groaned in embarrassment.

"Why don't you just ask him?" Cinder asked "You may not have guys clamoring to ask you out like he thinks, but if you ask any guy out, they'll say yes. And so would half the girls. Even he isn't dense enough to refuse!"

Pyrrha just shook her head at that. "But he likes Weiss. I'm just his partner."

Cinder started to feel annoyed "Do you not realize who you are? You have power and status that most people have to scratch and claw their entire lives to gain. Including the ability to have any man you want, simply by asking."

"You're wrong." Pyrrha insisted "None of that matters to him. Which is why..." She paused.

Cinder scoffed "You think very highly of him. But do you really think he's into Weiss for that dazzling smile she's always sending his way?"

Cinder walked off, leaving Pyrrha to her thoughts.

* * *

"Ren... I'm just gonna say it. You are one of my best friends. These past few months, I feel like we've really bonded, even though you beat me up and almost got me expelled. And, to be perfectly honest, I don't know that much about you, personally, and I'm kinda scared to ask, but darnit, I consider you to be the brother I never had!"

Ren accepted what he assumed was meant to be a compliment "And I you."

"Which is why I wanted to get your advice on... girls."

Ren raised his brow at that "Girls?"

As Jaune stumbled to find the right words, Pyrrha listened in at the door, hoping to learn what Jaune saw in Weiss, praying it wasn't her money.

Um, I-I guess what I'm asking is... Well, how did you and Nora... y'know...

Ren blushed at the implications "Uh…"

Nora, who until this point had been silent, cleared her throat awkwardly "We're actually not 'together-together…'"

"NORA, I SAID HEADPHONES ON!"

Ren quickly sought to change the subject "Jaune, what is this all about?"

Jaune sighed "It's Weiss. I'm completely head-over-heels for her, and she won't even give me a chance. She's cold, but when she's cold to her team I can tell it's her way of caring, and making sure they have a voice of reason. She's smart, and graceful, and talented. I mean, have you heard her sing? I-I just wish she'd take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up."

Pyrrha smiled sadly. He hadn't said a thing about her money or status.

"Then do it." She said as she entered the room.

* * *

As Ruby awkwardly lounged at the punch bowl, a dateless Jaune finished a dance with Yang, who whispered something in his ear before heading off to dance with one of the other expectant boys. Jaune smiled and made his way over to Ruby. "I see you're hiding at the punch bowl."

Ruby nodded "yup".

Jaune smiled and grabbed her hands, putting her glass down for her, despite her protests. "Come on! Just because neither of us have dates doesn't mean we can't have at least one dance each."

Ruby shook her head "I can barely walk in these things and now you want me to dance!?"

Jaune laughed "I'll go slow! If all else fails you can stand on my feet."

Ruby relented and the two awkwardly swayed back and forth.

Ruby decided to initiate the small talk to alleviate the awkwardness. "Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss."

Jaune shrugged sadly "Meh, it's fine. Neptune's pretty "cool". I get why she went with him."

Ruby tilted her head in confusion "What do you mean?"

"Well, come on, not many people can pull off blue hair."

Ruby shook her head "No, I mean, Weiss came to the dance alone."

"What?" He glanced over to see a lonely Weiss trying to fix a wilted white rose.

Ruby nodded "Yeah, she said that she had too much to focus on to worry about boys."

As the dance finished, Jaune noticed Neptune talking and laughing with Sun and Blake. He growled and prepared to confront the blue-head.

As he began to leave, Ruby grabbed Jaune's arm. "Jaune, before you talk to Neptune, I think you should talk to Pyrrha."

Jaune followed her gaze, to see Pyrrha heading out to the balcony. Alone.

Jaune nodded at Ruby, and headed out, briefly pausing to let Cinder pass in front of him.

* * *

With everyone in the dance hall, a disguised Cinder made her way through the side halls towards Beacon Tower. She wore all black, with a hood covering her hair which was in a ponytail, and a securely fashioned black mask.

Ruby had chosen to leave early, though she'd thought to say hi to Cinder who was lounging at the punch bowl, but by the time she'd reached it, her friend had disappeared.

Ruby took a rear exit, knowing Yang would insist that she stay if she caught her leaving. As she got away from the noise of the music, she heard a commotion down the hall. As she turned the corner she saw two atlesian guards unconscious and covered in burns, just as the elevator closed and began to ascend.

Cinder continued to burn her way through guards as she entered Beacon Tower, and began working at Ozpin's computer.

"A party guest is leaving" Emerald's voice rang in her ear.

Cinder sighed "Which one?"

"Ironwood."

"Has he seen me?" Cinder asked.

Emerald took a moment to concentrate. Just before reaching the door, Ironwood paused to let Cinder Fall stroll past him.

"He has now." Emerald smiled.

Cinder smiled as the Black Queen flared on the computer, before vanishing. "Good… We're done here."

As Cinder prepared to leave, she noticed the elevator ding and begin to open.

Ruby cautiously entered the office, having summoned her weapon locker through a window (she really hoped she wouldn't have to pay for that), and left her heels downstairs.

"Is anyone there? Hello?"

Cinder didn't see a way of sneaking out so instead chose to reveal herself.

Ruby readied her weapon "Excuse me? You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-!"

Cinder threw flames at Ruby, who dodged out of the way. She began firing, only to have them blocked. Ruby rushed, and was once again dodged, barely clipping the woman's hood. Ruby turned as the hood fell, seeing the womans black hair and catching a glimpse of yellow in her eyes.

"Cinder?" Ruby paused in surprise, before a gust of wind from nowhere blew her out the window. Ruby quickly stopped her fall by hooking the ledge with Crescent rose, and pulled herself back into the office, just as Ironwood entered. Ruby smiled, only to realize that the assailant was nowhere to be found.

* * *

 **Omake: This would either take place at the dance, or at the end of the Volume.**

As the dance started to wind down, a dress clad Jaune decided he needed to address some things with Pyrrha.

As the two swayed slowly he leaned in to her ear. "I'm sorry it took me so long to realize you were crushing on me."

She blushed as he continued "There's a lot that could go wrong if we started dating and it didn't work out. Especially with the tournament coming up. And honestly, I'm only just getting over Weiss. I don't want you to feel like a rebound."

Pyrrha nodded sadly, avoiding his gaze. "But" he continued " you're my best friend, and I think we'd both regret not trying to make it work."

Pyrrha looked up hopefully, a smile spreading across her face. "So when the tournaments over, let's go on a date and see where it leads us."

He then chuckled and scratched the back of his head "If I survive the tournament that is."

* * *

 **AN: Whoo! Three episodes in one chapter! Let me know what you guys thought!**


	11. Mission arc

**AN: Let's get to it.**

 **Pyrrha being made to fight twice in one class doesn't make much sense (and neither does her fighting 4 on 1 but we discussed that). Also I thought I'd take the opportunity to actually start building up Yang and Mercury's rivalry outside of the OP's.**

 **I hope Cinder didn't come across as too villainous in her conversation with Pyrrha, though it was meant to hint at some of her own backstory with power, and not having it. But hopefully it felt like a friend giving another friend advice.**

 **As I said last time, I like Jaune in this arc, and one of the things I like is the efforts by M &K to make his feelings for Weiss feel genuine and sincere. I just wanted to give it an extra push and have him go a little deeper into her personality as a person. Have him point out the reasons for her coldness.**

 **Few things. Yang claims she's gonna be turning heads, but the only person we see her dance with is Blake. So I dropped that line of her having a bunch of people wanting to dance with her. And since Jaune's supposed to be a good dancer, I don't see not having a date preventing him from dancing with his other stag friends (and I can totally see Yang sending him over to dance with Ruby). I also just think the idea of Ruby stumbling around on heels while trying to dance with Jaune would be cute and funny. And finally, Ruby's Pyrrha's friend, so she sends Jaune her way.**

 **As for Cinder's infiltration, first of all, I'm guessing Emerald didn't have a semblance until Volume 3, otherwise she definitely would've used it like I have her using it here to give Cinder and alibi for the attack on the CCT. Also there's no awkward Cinder jumping on "rooftops" scene here because the CCT is beacon tower, so all she has to do is sneak through the halls. Also added the hood to her disguise because the mask wasn't enough, and (just thought about this) it can add to her status as Ruby's shadow. And Cinder uses fire magic here because in canon Glynda claims the person who broke into the CCT and the person she fought when she met Ruby sounded like the same person, even though Cinder used two completely different methods of attack in those two scenes, so Glynda's statement was BS.**

 **Now for Jaune knowing Pyrrha has a crush on him. First of all, she basically screamed it at him on the balcony, after that it just got ridiculous. Second, the "girl has crush on guy but guy is totally oblivious" trope is really cliche and I wanted to subvert it. Third, this clearly defines their relationship. They could have something together, but for now it's on hold. And finally, this gives Jaune and Pyrrha something to lose if things go poorly during the tournament. Sure hope nothing bad happens to either of them.**

* * *

"Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?"

"I... I don't know." Ruby looked nervous "She was wearing a hood and mask, and she never said anything to me. But she used fireballs on me, and I think she may have also been able to control wind somehow? I don't think that was her Semblance, though. Her eyes lit up whenever she attacked."

Glynda looked at Ozpin knowingly "That sounds like... the woman I fought the night we met Ruby."

Ruby thought she heard the briefest of pauses in that statement, but Ironwood continued his discussion "Didn't you say you thought you knew her?"

Ruby continued to fidget "I thought she looked like a student I know from Haven, but it couldn't have been!"

"You said she looked like Cinder Fall" Ironwood insisted, pulling up a picture of the young woman on Ozpin's desk. "But you're right, it couldn't have been her. Multiple people saw her during the dance when the attack was taking place, Glynda and Ozpin included. I almost ran into her myself while going to investigate."

"That's right!" Ruby nodded in relief "I even saw her myself right before I left! It was dark, It was probably just someone who looked like her."

"We'll keep an eye on her just in case." Ironwood concluded "But it's likely the assailants attacks were fueled by Dust. Embedding Dust into clothing or even one's own body is an age-old technique. It could have been anyone."

Ruby suddenly had an idea "Wait. You think this girl is connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?"

* * *

"Well there we have it." Ironwood said as soon as Ruby left "The woman who attacked Ruby is the new Maiden. We send as many troops as we can to the southeast, find out exactly what's going on, and eradicate any forces that stand in our way. And with luck, we'll discover the true identity of that woman."

Glynda growled in frustration "Why must your answer to everything involve a triumphant display of military bravado!? You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring di—!"

"Glynda!"

"Well, he does."

Ozpin continued "She's right. As much as I too would love to end this situation once and for all, we must remember that this may go beyond Vale. Beyond Beacon. And if this truly is part of some new master plan of hers for which we know not the final move, we mustn't be so bold. Nor can we risk the spread of panic."

* * *

"That wasn't exactly uplifting." Yang snarked

Blake shrugged "But it's the truth."

"It's gonna to be tough, but I know we can do it!" Ruby encouraged "We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now. Besides, it won't only be us out there! We'll be fighting alongside a genuine Huntsman!"

"Why, hello girls! Who's ready to fight for their lives?"

* * *

"Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse."

'Save the world?" The girl's turned to see Team JNPR approaching.

"You're going on world-saving missions without us?" Nora moaned dramatically "I'm hurt... sad! Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault, though, Ren…" **(AN: I know this line's mostly just for the LOL's, but doesn't it make so much more sense now that JNPR's been on all the** _ **other**_ " **world-saving missions"?)**

Jaune stepped forward seriously "You guys are investigating the White Fang's base in the southeast right? We might be able to change our mission to join yours."

"We'll be fine!" Ruby reassured "Ozpin's already bending the rules by sending us!"

Pyrrha put a reassuring hand on Jaune's shoulder. "It's alright. Ren and Nora really wanted to visit that nearby village."

Ren nodded "We set out tomorrow."

"Then you can party with us tonight!"

* * *

"When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. He married into the Schnee name, and since he took control, our business has operated in a... moral gray area.

"That's putting it lightly."

Weiss continued, annoyed "Which is why I feel the need to make things right. My grandfather started his career as a huntsman. He explored the world and learned the struggles of others, and always kept that in mind in his business practices. It made him the generous man he was, while also helping him learn how to lead. I came to Beacon to emulate and honor him. He was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it."

* * *

"Hey! Hands off!"

Ruby pulled away from the White Fang Soldier, then rushed forward and punched him in the chest. The man went sprawling, but Ruby shook her wrist, not used to the sensation of unarmed combat.

She prepared to run, only to find her ankle snagged. She turned to see a diminutive woman with a parasol standing over her. Ruby attempted another strike, but the woman easily sidestepped her, and playfully swatted her on the rump with the parasol. Ruby made another passed, and this time felt the parasol clothesline her, knocking the wind out of her, and bringing her to her back. The woman grinned as she brought her boot down on Ruby's head.

* * *

"That seems to be the last of the cars with bombs on them!" Oobleck called, looking down into the train car and finding no bomb underneath. He and team RWBY had fought their way through 20 or so White Fang soldiers in an effort to escape the cars that were derailing.

He then turned to Weiss, Blake, and Yang. "You three head below and make you're way to the front. With luck, you'll run into less opposition and get their faster than Ruby and me. We'll continue towards the top from the roofs!"

As the three older girls went below, Oobleck noticed a sad look on Ruby's face. He followed her gaze, and saw that she was looking sorrowfully at what appeared to be a battle behind them. Likely the White Fang soldiers who'd fallen from the train attempting to fight off the horde of Grimm.

He placed a comforting hand on her soldier. "Using the Grimm as a weapon is always a risk Ruby. One they chose to take. They made their choice. Now they are reaping the consequences."

Ruby nodded and the two (along with Zwei, continued towards the front, with more White Fang standing in their way.

* * *

"I guess this is what we trained for."

As the three moved forward, they suddenly found their way blocked by two figures. One tall, and one shorter than all of them.

"Hello, ladies. You miss me? You know, we really gotta stop meeting like this. People are gonna talk..."

Blake rushed Roman and Yang charged at Neo, while Weiss hanged back to wait for an opening. Roman easily parried Blake's attacks, while Neo simply evaded Yang's attacks with no effort. Suddenly, the two girls found themselves collidding with eachother, and turned to see a laughing Roman and grinning Neo looking down on them. Weiss took this opportunity to try and get past, only to find a cane and parasol blocking her path. she stopped short of being knocked down, only to find two boots knocking her back.

"Guess we'll have to beat them first." Weiss growled to her friends.

The three rushed the duo. Yang continued to swing at Neo, while Blake and Weiss double-teamed Roman, trying to keep the two separate. Weiss spotted her opening and created a circle of glyphs around roman and performed a flurry of stabs at him, knocking him to the ground. the two turned just in time to see Yang get tossed to the roof of the train by Neo.

Blake ran to avenge her partner and Weiss prepared to join her only to fell a tap on her shoulder.

"Think I can't take a few wimpy hits like that?" Roman smiled before taking a baseball swing at her face.

Blake turned in horror as Weiss went down. Roman's fist quickly struck her face, and Neo's boot hit her stomach, bringing her to her knees.

Roman struck Blake in the face with his cane "You think a little bow on top is gonna make people forget who you were? What you've done...?"

"Better we kill them before they can find out." Blake tried to protest as Neo drew her blade from her parasol and prepared to stab the unconscious Yang, but the wind had been knocked from her lungs by Neo's kick.

Suddenly, a masked figure's katana struck out at Neo, driving her back. Roman attempted to come to Neo's aid, only to find a katana hilt in his face and his face shoved into a wall, knocking him out.

Neo wanted to help her partner, but knew she was outmatched. She chose to retreat, phasing away.

With the threat gone, the masked figure regarded the three downed girls. Yang came to just long enough to see the figure slash the air and a red portal appear. Her vision cleared just long enough to see the figure step into the portal.

"M-mom?"

"Yang!" Blake rushed to her partners side.

"I'm fine." Yang groaned as she got up.

Blake looked where the masked woman disappeared. "Was that..."

"Yeah" Yang nodded "Those were the clothes she wore back in the day."

"What are you two talking about?" Weiss asked as she got up.

"We'll tell you later." Yang commanded "Let's grab Torchwick and get to the front of the train!"

* * *

Ruby dropped down into the front car of the train just as the rest of the team entered with a blindfolded Torchwick over Yang's shoulder.

"You guys were supposed to get here first!" Ruby despaired.

"We ran into some trouble." Weiss gestured at the stirring Torchwick. "Complain later, we need to stop this train! The ETA's one minute!" She gestured at a screen counting down on the trains dash.

The three paused when they heard a laugh behind Yang's shoulder. "I'm guessing none of you were conductor's in your last lives. Even if you were there's no way you can stop this train in time."

"What!?" Blake demanded.

"No time for a physics lesson now. Just grab onto something and start praying."

Ruby turned to Weiss, and the two grinned. Weiss stabbed her rapier into the ground, and a mass of ice encased the five of them moments before the train struck the oncoming wall.

* * *

 **AN: Mostly small changes this time. V2 finale is next!**


	12. The Breach

**AN: Lot of little things last Chapter.**

 **More hints at the Maidens. And a nod to Salem. And just some emphasis on how well planned out Cinder's plan is. Ruby saw her, but she has an alibi, and Ruby doesn't want to believe it was her.**

 **That campfire scene would've probably been a better time to mention Weiss' father marrying into the Schnee name. And I wanted to try and help Weiss' decision to try and inherit the company by being a huntress make more sense. She's trying to honor her grandfather, so she can lead the company the way he did.**

 **The whole "Ruby can't fight without her weapon" subplot is dumb, or at the very least, not well executed. She carries and easily swings a Sniper rifle/scythe hybrid that is longer than she is tall. Not to mention the shoulder strength it must take to fire it. And we saw her send a man flying in the very first episode, without her weapon. So if she lands a punch on a guy, that guy is going flying. So instead I demonstrated her helplessness by sending her an enemy she can't hit so easily.**

 **And the reasoning behind Team RWBY splitting up on the train didn't make sense. They were supposed to diffuse bombs, but that got completely forgotten. Then they proceeded to split up one by one; never a good idea. So instead I chose to have one battle, 2 v 3 to emphasize Roman and Neo's teamwork, as well as Weiss and Yang's weaknesses. And I also felt it was important to at least address the fate of the White Fang guys who got thrown off the train.**

 **Forward, to The Breach!**

* * *

Ruby struggled to clear her mind from the crash. Just as she was regaining her bearings, a large rumbling came behind her, and a King Taijitu erupted from the ground, followed by a massive wave of Grimm. The four girls ran to create some distance, while screaming for the onlookers to run. Ruby winced as she saw a handful of the civilians tackled and quickly slaughtered by beowolves.

The four quickly regrouped and attempted to cover the retreat of the civilians. Ruby, Weiss and Blake rushed about trying to kill the Grimm nearest to the retreating crowd, while Yang carried a once again unconscious Torchwick to a nearby restaurant, looking for a place to hide him until the battle was over.

As Yang prepared to reenter the fray, it was in time to see Ruby being snuck up on by an Ursa Major. Just as she called to her sister, the claw was caught by the shield of none other than Jaune Arc. Ruby turned just in time to see Jaune shove the creatures claw away and bring his sword around in a mighty slash, sending the monster's head flying.

Ruby couldn't help but grin at her friends feat of strength. She then turned as she heard an explosion from the other end of the square.

"SMASH!" Nora cheered, bringing her hammer down on a King Taijitu's head, just as Ren was dispatching the other end. She then turned again at the sound of what sounded like several warriors fighting, only to see a lone Pyrrha in a crowd of Beowolves and Creeps. She was carving her way through with Milo in hand while Akouo bounced around her, shredding Grimm around her before they could reach Milo's range.

Ruby's joy at her friends arrival was short-lived however, as more Grimm began to emerge from the tunnel, and they were starting to look older and showing more variety. Ruby quickly assessed the situation. Any civilians still in the area were dead, which meant the objective was containment.

"Listen up!" Ruby called everyone in her earpiece "there are three exits to this area. We need to keep the Grimm from leaving through any of them."

"We contacted the police before we arrived." Jaune informed her "They should be here to barricade the area soon."

"Sounds good! We'll have to split up the teams though." Ruby began to mull over how best to split things up until another voice came over her earpiece.

"What're you talking about? You've got a team of Junior detectives right here!" came Sun's cheerful voice. Ruby glanced to the North just in time to see a dark-skinned boy with a large sword land in the midst of several Grimm, leaving a large crater in his wake. Sun and Neptune quickly joined him, as a ginger boy dressed as a pirate camly gunned down a crowd of Grimm with what looked like a flintlock pistol.

"Allow me to introduce the other half of my team." Sun cheered as he battled an Ursa. "the pretty boy's Scarlet, and the one leaving craters is Sage."

"We weren't gonna let you nerds have all the fun this time!" Sage growled as he cleaved a beowulf in two.

"I told you!" Neptune shouted in annoyance "Intellectual!"

Ruby tried hard not to laugh at the banter between the three as her team took positions at the Western exit and JNPR took positions at the East. Within a few minutes, Ruby heard the relieving sounds of sirens, and several police cars pulled behind the groups, setting up hasty barricades, as officers added their dust rounds to the huntsmen in training. Unfortunately, Ruby began to despair as the Grimm only seemed to keep growing in number.

"Those Boarbatusks will smash right through the barricades!" An officer grieved over the radio.

Jaune had a quick thought as he cut down another ursa, and ran to a nearby sergeant. "Do you're officer's have Gravity dust?"

"Not much." The officer lamented. "Maybe five rounds each."

Jaune nodded "Tell them to fire the gravity rounds right in front of the Boarbatusks right when they start to roll."

The order was passed along. A group of Boarbatusks formed a spinning wall preparing to rush a barricade. However, their spins were quickly interrupted as the Gravity dust fired into their paths sent them all up into the air and they all crashed back to earth on their back, making for quick and easy targets.

This minor victory didn't last long however, as several Deathstalkers made their presence known. Ruby also felt her ammo pouch growing light, and had heard several reports from her fellow students that they'd run out of Dust. The other's couldn't be far behind. She began to grow frantic until one of the deathstalkers collapsed under the strain of a burly form landing on it's back, shattering its shell. A fireball then erupted from the debris, and a laughing Peter Port emerged. Further relief came as more debris began to throw itself at the Grimm, as Glynda Goodwitch calmly entered the scene.

"We need to push forward!" She commanded "If we clear out enough of them, I should be able to seal the hole."

"We can help with that." Ruby turned just in time to see three arrows whiz past her and explode into the eyes of another Deathstalker, effectively blinding it. Cinder strolled up next to her, a bow and dust arrows in hand.

"Not taking a dirt nap this time, Ruby" the yellow eyed woman smiled.

Ruby gave a sigh of relief, both grateful for her friends help, and to see that she wasn't throwing fire. Emerald and Mercury joined the fray as well, and Ruby prepared for a final push, before a thought occurred.

"What about Oobleck and Zwei?!" She called into her ear piece "They're still in the-"

"GET BACK!"

Everyone jumped as a burst of flame erupted from the tunnel, followed quickly by Doctor Oobleck and Zwei. Ruby's smile quickly vanished when she saw the Doctor waving everyone away with a panicked look.

"GET BACK!"

Ruby suddenly felt the ground shake even more, and suddenly erupt again as a trumpetting Goliath emerged. Ruby paled as the mighty Grimm began to paw at the ground beneath it.

"Don't let it charge!" She called, rushing forward to slash it's legs. She nearly lost her grip on Crescent Rose when the blade made impact with the beasts legs, but barely left a scratch. Jaune, Sage, Pyrrha, Blake, and Emerald had all had similar ideas, but their attacks on the creatures legs were having no results. Nora had tried to launch a mighty blow on the creatures skull, but had only seemed to irritate the creature, which swatted her away with a swing of it's trunk.

As those with bladed weapons assaulted the behemoths legs, the rest of them ran forward to keep the smaller Grimm away from their comrades, having all exhausted their dust, while the police drew riot shields and batons to try and stem the still growing wave of Grimm. The three teacher's regrouped for a quick conference.

"Come on Barty!" Port called his colleague "I've seen you defeat bigger Goliath's than that! Why, that one's probably the youngest of it's herd!"

Oobleck nodded "I've used up all my dust fighting the White Fang and Grimm in the tunnels." He replied "What about you?"

"I'm nearly out as well" Port groaned "Can't you do anything, Glynda?"

Goodwitch shook her head "If I use my semblance to destroy that thing, I won't have enough energy left to close the hole."

"Perhaps we can be of assistance." A commanding voice came over their earpieces. "Everyone get clear of the Goliath!"

As Ruby and the other's retreated, she looked about in confusion to try and see who else had joined the battlefield. Suddenly, there was a massive flash of light, and the Goliath's right side exploded in a massive blast. Ruby looked up to see hundreds of atlesian ships fill the sky of Vale. Another shot was fired from the flagship, obliterating the remains of the Goliath. More fire rained down from the sky, annihilating the Grimm below. Atlesian Knights began to rain down from the ships, and march on the tunnels. The Grimm continued to charges, but while some managed to destroy they were eventually driven back by the sheer numbers of the machines. Finally, the area was secure enough for Glynda to finally close the breach.

* * *

" _17 casualties were reported…"_

" _The Atlesian military succeeded where the huntsmen failed."_

" _What was Ozpin thinking sending students on such an important mission?"_

" _The Huntsmen did their best, and without them the casualties would've been much worse, but ultimately, the day belonged to Ironwood's fleet."_

" _There's no way of knowing if my way of doing things would've worked better. Ozpin did the best he could with the information he had."_

Yang was pounding away at a speed bag, trying to build her accuracy. She tried to visualize the smirking face of Roman's partner in the speed bag.

" _In light of these recent events and attacks, General Ironwwod has been placed in charge of security for the Vytal festival, and his troops will begin regular patrols of the kingdom."_

" _Ozpin's continued place at the academies will be discussed at a later date."_

Weiss strained profusely as she struggled to lift the 50 pound barbell over her head. Just as she felt her arms begin to lose the last of their strength, and concerned Nora came over and lifted the bar back onto the rack with one arm.

" _I'm going to give you one chance. Who's really behind this?"_

" _Isn't it obvious? You're looking at him!"_

Blake continued to go over her notes. She tried and tried to find a link. To understand what the White Fang had hoped to achieve. Why so many had died for this plan. Finally, she grew sick of it, throwing her notebook away, and simply collapsing onto her back in the dorm, unable to figure out an end game.

" _Things went off prematurely, but the breach still served its purpose. Ironwood's army now walks the streets of Vale."_

" _The White Fang lost a lot of people though. They didn't have time to build escape tunnels. Fennec and Corsac may not be willing to listen to us after this."_

" _No, but they'll listen to me."_

" _Good. The final phase will soon begin."_

Ruby ran and ran around the track. Her legs wanted to stop, but she couldn't. She hadn't been fast enough this time. She would be next time. She had to be.

* * *

 **AN: So some reviewers have wondered how I planned to make the Breach work, since the canon Breach made the villains look incompetent, and the Grimm look weak. The answer is, easily. All I had to do was make the Grimm feel like a threat, and the Breach itself feel like a part of the plan that worked. And to treat it like the turning point in the series it was meant to be.**

 **First of all, the original breach didn't have any casualties. That trivialized the entire thing, so I made it clear that people died, none of that "some people got hurt and a clothing store got smashed" crap.**

 **Second of all, I hope I got it across that the characters were fighting an uphill battle. Partly by giving the fight an actual objective, not just, "fight monsters and look cool". (Though I do hope that Pyrrha sounded cool to you guys. I got the idea for her fight from "Castlevania" when Alucard's sword is levitating around him while he fights.) And making that objective seem actually difficult to attain. Despite other huntsman teams arriving, and the police (because of course the police would show up) and teachers, there's still more Grimm. And everyone running out of dust, including the police lets us know that Roman's heists had consequences. (And Jaune's idea to fire gravity dust at the Boarbatusk's feet was just an idea I had of creative ways to use dust to dispatch Grimm. And it once again highlights his role as a tactician.)**

 **And remember the Goliath's? Those massive Grimm Ruby thought were cool, but Oobleck said she wouldn't stand a chance against, and we were so stoked when they were on the move in Volume Three, and yet we** _ **still haven't seen them fight?**_ **So yeah, figured I'd throw one of those into the battle, and actually make it feel unstoppable. And it's a young one.**

 **And then I had the Atlas military actually be the heroes! In canon, Ozpin gets crap, and Ironwood gets rewarded, even though Ozpin's students did all the work. That makes no sense. So instead I made it clear who won the battle.**

 **And then I made it clear that this was Cinder's plan all along. My headcanon has always been that the purpose of the Breach was to get more of Ironwood's troops in charge of the Vytal festival, so Cinder could hack them and wreak havoc, so I've made that canon here. Thus, the breach was meant as a step of the plan, but not the end game. The plan was always for the Vytal Festival to be where Cinder's plan came to fruition. Again, I've always assumed that was M,M, &K's original intentions, but the plan was so convoluted in canon, that we can't be sure.**

 **And again, instead of trivializing the Breach by having Team RWBY act like it was no big deal, we've got them training and trying to improve, because they failed! They blew it! Minimizing the damage of the Breach was damage control, not a succes. And there will be additional consequences. And you may notice that they're all training alone. Just a small inkling of things to come. This is a turning point, so hopefully Volume three's turn will feel less jarring.**

 **Now it's time to address the elephant in the room with a little rant. I'm sure you all noticed the absence of team CFVY from this chapter, and this entire Volume. While the most enlightened among you must have noticed that** _ **nothing of value was lost.**_

 **In three Volumes, Team CFVY was, at best, fanservice that made Emerald and Mercury look good, and at worst fanservice that stole spotlight from actual characters (Weiss) and trivialized important moments (the Breach).**

 **And Team CFVY** _ **is**_ **fanservice. Even more so than Jinn (fight me)! Jinn had a more substantial and significant impact on the plot in her first minute of screen time than team CFVY had in their entire screen time for the first three Volumes. You don't need gravity defying breasts and upskirts to be fanservice. If it only exists because the fans want something to masturbate to, it's fanservice.**

 **And I don't care if the YA novel fleshes out their personalities to the most ridiculous degree, and they return to the show and somehow manage to be a truly significant and irreplaceable addition, while at the same time not doing anything that should've been done by Teams RWBY, JNR, or SSSN, nor distracting from any of their important moments. As far as their roles in the first three Volumes, they were detrimental to the plot, and distractions from more important characters. That fact will never change.**

 **Okay rant over. I hope you all enjoyed my take on Volume 2. Keep reading and reviewing.**


	13. Round One

**AN: I'm back!**

 **Before I begin, if you guys want to guess at some of the things I'm trying to fix with this upcoming arc, check out this video by my buddy Mediaocrity** **watch?v=F7aNlrsguQM**

* * *

Ruby gazed down at her mother's grave in contemplation.

"Hey mom!" She began "Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been... well, things have been, pretty busy. Oh, Dad's here, too! He's, uh, you know... Dad. He's still teaching at Signal. But he told me that he's going to be on some mission soon. I think he misses adventuring with you." She felt tears begin to approach her eyes "I miss you too."

"Haven't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet! So that's cool. I think being on a team with Yang helps. Keep her in line... That was a joke. She's actually a really great fighter! You can tell she's learned a lot from Dad! Oh, so are Weiss and Blake. They're my teammates! Together, we form Team RWBY! And yes, before you ask, that does cause a lot of confusion. Anyways, I made a bunch of new friends, and then I met some... let's just say, uh, odd teachers."

She began to kick at the ground in shame "We've been trying to stop some bad guys, too. Trying, being the operative word. We ended up failing and letting a bunch of Grimm into the middle of Vale. Everyone's been pretty down since then. I'm trying to be a hero like you were, and save people, but I guess I still have a long ways to go."

She shuffled uncomfortably. "The tournament's coming up. I'm not sure how well we'll do though. Weiss says a lot of people expect us to totally fail."

She smiled and tried thinking about additional topics to discuss. "I still wonder why Ozpin let me into the school early. But uh, I guess he'll tell me one day. It's funny, the more I get to know him, the more he's starting to sound like Uncle Qrow."

A bark behind her interrupted her thoughts and she turned to see Zwei and her father waiting for her. "Oh! Looks like Dad's back! I gotta go! He's dropping me off at Beacon for the tournament match before he goes on his next mission. Wish me luck! "

As she left, she turned back for one final word "It was good to talk."

* * *

Team RWBY were pacing nervously in the waiting area in preparation for their first match in the Vytal festival tournament.

"Tough crowd" yang mused in annoyance. She was referring to the glares and whispers that went on as their team had approached the waiting area.

"Yup" Ruby moaned "people still hate us."

"What are we even doing here?" Blake blurted in irritation. The whispers had been particularly irritating for her, since she could hear most of them, and a lot of them were directed at her. "If we lose it just makes us look even weaker than we already do. And if we win, it just makes the other team look bad! They're the team that lost to the losers who let the Breach happen."

Yang looked at Blake incredulously "So what?"

"This tournament is supposed to showcase the skills of the next generation of Huntsmen" Weiss interrupted Yang "If the other teams can't beat us, then what does that say about our generation?"

"That you're first years." The girls turned in surprise to see that Cinder and Emerald had approached "That the mission had unexpected parameters that would've given even professional huntsmen a challenge. That mistakes were made! That Ozpin's human, no matter what he may want others to think!"

She heaped the tough love on her friends "You don't have to limit yourselves just because people expect you to fail, just to maintain some illusion that Ozpin's perfect and the Grimm aren't a threat. That won't prepare anyone for the threat that's out there."

"Negative emotions bring the Grimm" Blake asserted.

"The Grimm exist for one purpose and one purpose only, to destroy humanity. Happy thoughts and blissful ignorance won't stop them, only delay them. The only thing that will stop them is strong huntsmen and huntresses. We won't be strong if we let the public tell us how strong or weak to be."

Ruby's frown began to rise a little bit at the older girls comments.

"And again," Cinder continued, her voice softening "we're first years. All we can do is perform well enough that two years from now, all anyone remembers you for is the team that did better than anyone thought possible, and not why those expectations were so low."

The announcement came for Team RWBY to head to the arena.

Cinder smiled gently "If you're representative doesn't make it to the final rounds, I will be very disappointed."

As team RWBY headed into the arena, Cinder strolled back to a frowning Emerald and a intrigued Mercury.

"So how are the new friends?"

Cinder smiled "They just needed a little pep talk.

Emerald continued to frown "Why do you care?"

Cinder shrugged "I hate seeing power and talent go to waste trying to please the crowd. And besides, I'm banking on them sending Yang to the final rounds. And if that happens, it will make out mission that much easier."

Mercury laughed "So you filled their heads with dreams so we can stomp on them, huh?"

Cinder smirked "It wasn't all lies. There is no preventing what's coming, only delaying the inevitable. And Ozpin's humanity will be on display for everyone to see. All of humanities limitations will be on display.

* * *

Team RWBY all waited in the tunnel leading to the Amity Arena entrance. Ruby continued to look over Crescent Rose one more time, while Yang danced back and forth to prepare herself. Weiss sat in quiet contemplation, feeling more nervous than she ever had before, while Blake kept quietly to the shadows, dreading the worst when she entered the arena.

"Welcome to the First round of the First Year Tournament of the Vytal Festival, broadcast live from the Amity Colosseum!" Professor Port's voice boomed out over the stadium. "If this is your first time watching, allow us to break down the rules!"

Professor Port was joined by Doctor Oobleck "The tournament is divided into three distinctive rounds; teams, doubles, and winners of this battle will elect two of their members to represent them in the doubles round, followed by the winners of that round choosing one member to advance once again. The remaining combatants will then fight their way through the final bracket in the hope of achieving victory for their Academy!"

"And the four winners of each years bracket will go on to compete in a four way exhibition match between all four years!" Professor Port finished for his colleague "The Winner of which will then compete against the winner from the Professionals Bracket."

* * *

"Now, let's begin with the first match of the tournament! Introducing first: From Beacon Academy, the team consisting of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Bellamy, and Yang Xiao Long, Team RWBY!"

As the four girls entered, they were deafened by the crowd. They heard a smattering of applause, but also a deafening amount of boo's. Ruby and Weiss attempted to put of brave faces against the jeers, while Yang Clenched her first and simply looked forward in annoyance, her eyes already reddening in anger.

Blake, unfortunately, could actually make out some of the ruder jeers, and for the first time in months, caught herself wishing she'd held onto her bow.

Among the general cries of "Failure's", "Loser's", and "You let the Grimm in" were many cries directed at her specifically.

" _Animal!"_

" _Go back to Menagerie!"_

" _White Fang scum!"_

The cries were so deafening that she hadn't even heard the announcement of her opposing team, Team NDGO, from Shade. She didn't even notice them until they were face to face in the middle of the ring.

"Hey kid!" The spear wielding girl name Dew called to Ruby "Is Beacon so desperate they let children in now?"

The curly haired girl, Gwen chuckled to her teammate "How sad are the rest of you that you have a kid leading you?"

Weiss felt a pit begin to form in her stomach "Is that what I sounded like?"

Nebula just shook her head "Look, try to last more than one minute, okay? Maybe if you exceed expectations people will forget that whole Breach incident by the time the next tournament comes around."

Yang worked hard to drown them out and focus on the task at hand as the stages were selected, a volcanic area, and a glacier, until Octavia opened her mouth to begin talking.

"And maybe if your really lucky you'll have ditched the pet by then!" she laughed "With luck, she and the rest of her White Fang pals will have been sent back to their little island to eat each other by th-"

So caught up was she with her comments, that she didn't hear the buzzer announcing the beginning of the match. Not that she had any chance to respond to it anyway, since the instant the buzzer sounded, a gauntleted fist had struck her across the face and sent her flying into the lava area.

Both teams were temporarily taken aback at Yang's speed, and needed a moment to collect themselves. Then Weiss rushed at Nebula, who quickly parried her blows, using her advance reach to hold the girl off. Ruby ran for Gwen, who used her quick reflexes to back into the glacier area, with Ruby pursuing, and quickly finding herself unbalanced. Blake and Nebula began to combat each other, while their teams continued to battle.

Gwen continued to smirk at Ruby as she tried to strike her with her advanced speed, while simultaneously dodging her throwing knives, and trying not to slip out of the arena with her speed.

"Seriously kid, you're going to get yourself hurt! Go back to Signal and figure out how to use your semblance, then try again! At this rate you'll get yourself and your team killed!"

Weiss had her own problems with Dew, as the girl continued to hold her at bay with her spear, which she spun like a baton, deflecting all of her attacks.

"You know, even if you could hit me, I doubt you have the strength to do any real damage to me."

The buzzer suddenly sounded as Octavia's aura hit red. The ginger's only offence had been an attempt at a wall of flame, but Yang had never minded the heat, and her own flames had quickly overpowered Octavia's.

Dew rolled her eyes at her teammates easy defeat "welp, that's my cue to get serious!" The girl stirred up a whirlwind with her spear, which swept up Weiss and sent her flying into the glacier area and into Ruby. Ruby panicked as she saw the edge of the arena approach, and used some gravity dust to launch the two of them out of the glacial area, and away from the arena's edge.

"This isn't working!" She groaned to Weiss.

"I can't hurt her!" Weiss moaned sadly "I'm too weak!"

Ruby saw her partner's despair, and decided she didn't care what the audience thought of her, her team needed this win. "Then we'll focus on where you're strong! Switch opponents with me! Show them who the real Ice Queen is!"

Weiss scowled at the nickname, but nodded at her partners confidence. "Let's do it!"

Weiss strolled out onto the ice to face Gwen, who just laughed "The kid needs you to fight her battles?"

Gwen tried to strike Weiss with her knives, but Weiss gracefully avoided each projectile with ease, gliding with the pull of the ice, using it to stay ten steps ahead. Gwen tried to pivot to keep up, but quickly found herself losing her footing, and stumbling.

A flurry of blows later left Gwen's aura in the red, glaring up at her opponent. Before Weiss could speak, A screaming Dew was caught up in a Whirlwind kicked up by Ruby, and sent flying out of the ring. Weiss grinned, then leaned in to Gwen.

"I'll never tell her this, but that "kid" is going to be a better huntress than either of us."

Nebula grew more and more frustrated as her teammates fell one by one, which led to her attacks on Blake being more and more clumsy as the ninja avoided her, while also doling out quick damage wherever she saw an opening.

"Hold still!" Nebula shouted "All you're doing is making the rest of us look bad!"

Blake glared and silently continued to evade.

Nebula continued to laugh "You think winning one match will make anyone forget what you are, you filthy animal?!"

She suddenly paused as a finger tapped her shoulder. She caught a brief glimpse of red eyes, before a gauntleted fist knocked her out.

Blake gave her partner an amused look. "I had that."

"I know" Yang nodded as her eyes returned to purple "But nobody talks about my partner like that and gets away with it."

Blake looked up sadly. There were more cheers, and the boo's weren't quite as deafening as before, but they were still audible. And among the many still directed at her, she heard several others directed at Yang.

" _Faunus loving Bimbo!_ "

* * *

"I don't think I can take two more rounds of this." Blake said subdued "I'm not going to the next round."

The rest of the team frowned, but understood. They were discussing the next round on their way to find food.

"So I guess that means Yang and Ruby go to the next round?" Weiss supplied "I doubt we can keep Yang from fighting, and without Blake, you and Ruby have the best rapport."

"Actually" Ruby supplied "I was thinking you and Yang would make the best duo for the finals."

The three other girls looked at Ruby in shock "Are you kidding me?!" Yang looked at her sister as though she'd grown a second head.

"You love to fight as much as Yang!" Blake said.

"I know," Ruby said "But for something like this, I think Yang and I are a little too alike. We need someone who can balance out Yang's aggressiveness and keep a cool head."

Weiss smiled at her partner's vote of confidence. " _She really is growing up._ "

"Wait," Yang paused "Are you saying I need a babysitter?"

Ruby grew sheepish "There's no right answer to that, is there?"

* * *

Team RWBY had been saved from starvation after Weiss's card was declined by Pyrrha and the rest of Team JNPR.

"So" Ruby began conversationally "you think you guys are ready?"

"Of course!" Nora cheered "We've got a world-renowned fighter on our team, one's basically ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune, we trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and uh... Jaune!"

Ren looked at Jaune's nauseous form "Are you gonna take that?"

"She's not wrong." The blonde leader groaned

Nora waved him off "I'm kidding, he knows I'm kidding. Don't be so nervous! The worst that can happen is we lose, that is just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures, our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status, we won't be able to show our faces in class, no one will sit with us in the cafeteria, Ren and I have no parents, we have no home left to go to, we'll be officially renamed Team Lose-iper!" Nora's face had paled throughout her monologue, her nervous laughter turning to sobs as she too planted her face on the table.

"Well" Blake supplied "It can't be much worse than what we went through today."

"That's actually not far off" Jaune groaned "Most people either think we were just as inept as you guys, or that we're big heroes. And if we screw this up, especially with Pyrrha on our team, then it'll be just as bad. And if I look like a fool, then people may find out about my transcripts and…"

"That won't happen" Pyrrha reassured her partner.

"You've gotten so much better Jaune!" Ruby insisted "and you have Pyrrha backing you up."

"Besides!" Yang offered "nobody else has nearly as much riding on this tournament as you and us! The world isn't watching them like you guys! That may be scary, but it makes you more motivated! You'll do fine!"

* * *

"What was that about nobody else having as much riding on this tournament as them?" Weiss groaned as Team JNPR's opponents showed themselves.

"Let the match of Team JNPR vs Team SSSN begin!"

* * *

 **AN: So, quick explanation for why that update took so long. For Christmas I got a copy of "The Anatomy of Story", which made me start reevaluating some of my own writing, and I wanted to try and apply as much of it as I could to my writing here. I haven't finished it yet, and I've been busy with some other things, but I plan on taking a little more care with my writing, and making each chapter feel a little more complete. I'll probably also be going back and rewriting some of my previous chapters. I won't be changing any major events though.**

 **Anyway, I promise the next update will come sooner.**

 **Also, if any of you like Fairy Tail, or want to like Fairy Tail, or like my writing style in general, I started a fic for that too, where I do the same thing I'm doing for RWBY with this fic.**


	14. New Challengers

**AN: New Chapter! But first some stuff on the last chapter.**

 **The Breach had consequences! Ruby's doubting her own ability to lead and her team's strength.**

 **And in a world like Remnant where there are monsters drawn to negativity it makes sense that they'd ask "why don't we just give the audience what they want?" And the answers the same in this world as the real world. Sometimes what people want isn't what's best. And it's okay to agree with Cinder here. Obviously hers is a very dark idea of lions not concerning themselves with the opinions of sheep, but it works with her character and is what Team RWBY need to hear. And it's another opportunity to build her relationship with them before she betrays them. Again, imagine this scene as if Jessica was given more acting direction than "you're evil". And, it's a potential part of Cinder's plan.**

 **And age and experience do matter in this version. Power scaling!**

 **So let's talk a little bit about the crowds reactions and this new Team NDGO. There's been some concern with the idea of Vale and Vacuo having the same apparent racism problems as Atlas and that one bar in Mistral. But racism in Remnant is not exclusively an Atlas and Mistral problem, just like real world bigotry is not exclusive to rich-white-straight-christian-conservative-middle aged-American men. It's a universal problem. Vale just had a major grimm attack brought on by the White Fang so tensions against them are higher than usual (also Cardin's probably from Vale, so the idea that canon Vale was bigotry free is bogus). And while Vacuo's culture respects strength, that just means the Faunus have to work that much harder to get respect.**

 **The White Fang originally gave off a Black Panther Party feel, so I'm trying to give Remnant as a whole the same feel that spawned that movement in the real world.**

 **But again, the Breach had consequences and Team RWBY in particular are feeling them, because even if Ozpin didn't broadcast who messed up, social media's a thing and plenty of people probably got footage of them in the midst of the battle and drew the correct conclusions.**

 **And hopefully this fight felt like it meant something to the characters. Weiss needed a win, Ruby realized that she cared more about her team's emotional state than a crowd of strangers, and Blake's doubts are starting to show, with Yang continuing to have her partners back.**

 **And Team JNPR's got some skin in the tournament too. Everyone has a reason to want to win this thing instead of just "glory for their kingdom" (which was BS considering only 2 or 3 of the 8 main characters representing Vale are confirmed to be from that kingdom). They have reputations to win back and/or maintain.**

 **Anyway, on with the show!**

* * *

Jaune couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for Sun. While he wasn't receiving quite as much abuse as Blake did, there were still plenty of boos which seemed to mostly sound off when he particularly was announced and mentioned. But the cheerful monkey boy continued to grin in a carefree manner.

"Hope you guys don't plan on going easy on us just because we're pals!" Sun called. His sly grin was mostly directed towards Pyrrha.

"We have no intention of going easy on any of you!" Sage supplied.

Jaune hardened his gaze as the field randomizer began to spin. He couldn't let his sympathy for Sun and his team hold him back.

Sun laughed as the first field was selected "Alright! Home turf!"

Scarlet scowled "Hope I don't get sand in my shoes."

Neptune rolled his eyes, "Be cool man."

"Alright! Beach Season!" he was startled by Nora's cheers and whirled around to see the next field announced.

The gears in Jaune's head began to spin as he leaned in to whisper conspiratorially to Nora and the rest of his team, missing the terror that arose in Neptune's eyes at finding a beach rise up behind him.

"3, 2, 1, BEGIN!"

No sooner had the announcement been made, then Neptune bolted through team JNPR's ranks and up the sandy hill behind them.

"Neptune, what are you doing?!" Sage called.

"Uh, you know, just gaining the higher ground!"

"On the enemy's side?!" Sun groaned

"They would never expect it!"

"He's not wrong" Jaune shrugged "Let's go!"

Ren and Nora both moved in to engage Scarlet and Sage, pushing them towards the water, as Jaune charged Neptune while Pyrrha stayed close, eyeing an approaching Sun.

Sun swung his staff expertly. "I know you're semblance. Which means I know how to beat you."

Pyrrha caught his first blow on her shield, and was shocked to here, not metal on metal, but hard wood.

Sun continued to grin "No metal for you to control means you're not invincible. You're just another girl." He unleashed a flurry of blows, not noticing the grin forming on Pyrrha's face as well.

"This should be interesting" She muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jaune had managed to close the distance to Neptune without any damage from his rifle form, but was quickly finding himself losing ground as Neptune managed to keep him at bay with his weapons trident form. Jaune kept his defences up, catching Neptune's every blow on his shield, but couldn't get past his opponents superior range. He continued to back up as Neptune advanced confidently, focusing purely on getting past his blonde challenger's shield.

Jaune suddenly grinned as he felt a wave brush against his sneakers, and let Neptune's next lunge go past him, almost sending the blue haired boy's trident into the water that had only moments ago been behind him. Neptune's eyes widened at the realization of where he was, and flailed his arms, barely keeping himself away from the water.

Jaune paled when he saw Neptune begin to back away from the water, and then looked out to where Ren and Nora were fighting Sage and Scarlet. Ren, Scarlet, and Sage were all safe on an island in the middle of the field, but Nora had been driven into the water with Sage doing his best to keep her there and maintain what he believed to be an advantage of terrain. Of course, the bubbly ginger didn't seem to mind getting wet one bit.

"NORA!" Jaune called in apparent horror "GET OUT OF THE WATER!"

Neptune paused in his retreat when he heard Jaune's call and saw what he saw.

"Neptune!" Sage called to his teammate as he continued to block the girls path to dry land. "Now's your chance!"

Neptune continued to hesitate, torn between an insurmountable opportunity and his mortal fear.

"Nora! Get out now!" Ren called desperately.

"I'm trying!" Nora cried out in what sounded like despair.

Sun and Scarlet struggled to divide their attention between their fights with Pyrrha and Ren Respectively and the apparent drama going on at the water's edge. As Neptune mustered up the strength to tiptoe towards the water with his trident raised the two noticed something odd. While Jaune was calling out to Nora in apparent dread, he simultaneously wasn't doing anything to stop Neptune's trident from entering the water.

The two recognized the apparent trap too late.

"NEPTUNE, WAIT!" Scarlet called.

As Neptune's trident struck the water Nora tensed up in apparent pain, before suddenly standing straighter, gripping Magnhild in an even stronger grip, and striking Sage's raised sword with enough force to force him a foot into the sand he stood on.

Neptune recognized the error just in time to hear Jaune's laughter behind him, before a boot sent him spluttering into the water, and the blonde leader attempted to capitalize on his opponents confusion.

"I'm glad you were able to overcome your fear there pal." Jaune couldn't help but gloat as he rained blows down on his panicking opponent. "Especially since Nora's semblance absorbs electricity. I'd say you just doubled her strength."

Jaune suddenly felt a hand grip the back of his hoody and toss him bodily out of the water. He looked up and saw Pyrrha rubbing furiously at her eyes, before turning to see an annoyed Sun pulling his partner from the water.

"Pretty sneaky, dude." Sun acknowledged, trying to make it clear that he wasn't taking the tactic personally "but that's the last trick you're pulling in this tournament."

Jaune tried to keep his guard up against the monkey Faunus's furious barrage, but once Neptune joined in he quickly found the buzzer sound as he was eliminated from the match. He took some comfort in glancing up at the board to see that Sage and Scarlet both followed soon after.

Sun and Neptune then looked behind Jaune at a stoic Pyrrha. She glanced at her downed leader, then at the two who had eliminated him. She then looked at the approaching Ren and Nora, shaking her head at her teammates.

As the excitement in the crowd rose Neptune turned to his leader. "There's no way we're winning this, man."

"Maybe not" Sun remained determined as he handed Neptune his wooden staff and pulled a pair of wooden nunchucks held together by rope from his belt "But even if we lose, we're taking the Invincible Girl out with us."

Pyrrha fixed the two with a determined glare. "I'm more than just a semblance."

The ensuing battle lasted just as long as the rest of the fight had. But even with her semblance eliminated, the two warriors couldn't land a single hit on the Invincible Girl.

* * *

The crowd roared its approval at Team JNPR's victory while Team RWBY applauded respectfully for all of their friends, unsure of how to feel.

"I'm happy for Team JNPR" Ruby muttered "but Team SSSN is really good too..."

"They have nothing to be ashamed of." Weiss assured her partner "Sun had a solid strategy, and most other contestants probably won't last half as long as them. Pyrrha's just that good."

Blake could only continue to wince as her ears picked up more abuse directed at Sun. It still wasn't as bad as the boo's directed at her, but nobody seemed to care that he'd held pace with the invincible girl. Some had even called his attack on Jaune unfair despite Jaune's own use of cunning and trickery. All anyone saw was the boys race.

The crowd suddenly began to grow quiet as something else transpired in the ring. Pyrrha had offered a hand to Sun, helping the Faunus to his feet. She then proceeded to raise his arm in the air, saluting his valiant effort. Jaune joined in to raise his other arm, before Neptune raised Jaune's free arm, and before long the two teams stood in the middle of the arena hand in hand, saluting one another as friends and worthy opponents.

There were still plenty of boos and jeers at Team JNPR for standing hand in hand with a Faunus, but they were mostly drowned out by respectful applause and shouts of approval from many others in the crowd.

* * *

 **AN: Hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm not great at writing fight choreograph itself, but hopefully the feel and important beats of the fight came across okay.**


	15. It's Brawl in the Family-Lessons Learned

**Why have two mediocre fights and create two completely disposable teams nobody gives a crap about when you can have one awesome fight between two teams that hopefully everybody likes? I get that canon Volume 3 was struggling with crunch time, but if they had to leave out the fights, it should've been the two pointless ones in New Challengers. So I took the one part of that episode that was kind of funny (Neptune's fear of water), the one part of it that was kind of interesting (Nora's semblance) and scrapped the rest.**

 **And hopefully this continued to feel like a fight with stakes. Sun has something to prove as a Faunus, and his team has a reputation to uphold same as Team JNPR.**

 **And hopefully it feels like both Sun and Jaune are half-decent strategists here. Sun recognizes a weakness in Pyrrha and tries to exploit it, and Jaune sees a way to use Neptune's weapon to his advantage and tries to use that. And hopefully he doesn't seem too mean-spirited shoving Neptune in the water and attacking him.**

 **And if the audiences response to Pyrrha beating two skilled opponents armed with weapons her semblance doesn't work on and not even taking a hit is "oh my gosh, she's so OP, this is total bs, nobody can beat her, this is ridiculous"… Good. She's the invincible girl. That's the point. At least she's not beating an entire team in one hit.**

 **And just a nice little feel-good moment. Just a nice moment of Pyrrha and the rest of Team JNPR choosing to celebrate Team SSSN's hard work and trying to set an example.**

* * *

"SCHNEE!"

As Winter screeched to a halt at the sound of her commanding officers voice Qrow's red eyes glowed briefly and her heel snagged a piece of damaged cobblestone. The Atlas specialist flailed in a feeble attempt to preserve her dignity, only to face plant right at Qrow's feet.

"Y'know, I hear some boots come with detachable heels." the alcoholic smirked down at the young woman as she tried her hardest to murder him with her eyes.

* * *

"Go on."

Qrow shrugged as the elevator containing Winter Schnee descended behind him. "Honestly I don't really know much more about what's going on than you three. Sounds like the false maiden and the one who infiltrated this office are one and the same."

Goodwitch nodded "but nobodies been able to get a good look at her face so we still don't know how to find her. We don't even know what she was trying to get from this tower or if she got it."

"And since we've seen this woman help Torchwick with his dust robberies it's not too much of a stretch to assume that she and Torchwick's little stunt in Downtown are related." Qrow continued.

"A stunt which failed." Ironwood supplied. "With no small amount of help from your nieces."

Qrow rounded on him "Did it fail? Even if Barty and the girls hadn't spooked Torchwick into jumping the gun his plan was to lead the Grimm through a single choke point in a city with the Atlesian air fleet parked on its doorstep."

"So it was an ill-conceived plan."

"I hate to deflate that ego of yours Jimmy, but Torchwick hasn't avoided capture all these years because Vale lacks men of your incredible competence. He's lasted this long because he doesn't do 'ill-conceived'."

"Then why hasn't he escaped from prison yet? Why hasn't the false maiden made any moves since the Breach?"

"Gee I dunno, maybe because she's biding her time and laying low! She's being discreet, which is what we should be doing, not flaunting massive air fleets for everyone to see!"

"Discreet wasn't working." Ironwood placed his scroll on Ozpin's desk and brought up a hologram of his massive fleet. "I'm here because this is what was necessary."

Qrow shook his head "You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!"

"And I am grateful."

"Oh, well, you've got a real funny way of showing it."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them; someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength."

Qrow couldn't help but laugh "You... You think they're scared of your little ships? You should know by now that she doesn't fear anything. She creates fear."

Ozpin spoke up "So you believe that She is the cause?"

Qrow considered his words for a moment "…I know that Torchwick didn't just suddenly make the leap from crime lord to terrorist on a whim. I know the White Fang didn't choose to work with him because of his charming personality. Whatever's going on, it's not over, and a few airships isn't going to stop it."

"That's enough Qrow" Ozpin interjected "James did what he thought was best, and if he hadn't the damages likely would've been much worse."

He then turned back to Ironwood "Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that they didn't get exactly what they wanted from the Breach. And Qrow's right, if our problem was so simple as to be fixed with military might I'd have had you scorch every ounce of earth not inhabited by human's years ago."

Ironwood shook his head and smirked "You'd be greatly overestimating our resources. Not to mention Remnants environmental ability to survive such an act."

Ironwood sighed "Then what do you suggest?"

"I suggest we find our guardian."

* * *

"Well a professional huntsman like myself is expected to get results as soon as possible."

"Of course they also expect good results." Ruby muttered at that comment.

Qrow glanced at his nieces downtrodden looks. "You both know what happened at the Breach wasn't your fault, right? You can always do better, but you had a pro with you, and he couldn't stop the train. If Ironwood had had his way and sent an army the White Fang would've seen him coming and the results would've been just as bad, maybe worse."

Yang groaned "but we still got our butts kicked. And from the looks of things, Torchwick was just the tip of the ice berg."

"You girls are either very perceptive or you know even more than you should" Yang nervously glanced over to see him smiling fondly despite the apparent reprimand. "But you're right. Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got nabbed; it's stopped, completely. No White Fang activity around the city. You cut off the head of the King Taijitu, but now the second head's calling the shots. That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick metal head of his."

Yang looked at Ruby "You... know the General?"

"Hey, I know everybody to some extent. Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team that graduated Beacon!"

He smiled as he brought out his old teams photo to show the girls "Hah, Team STRQ... That's where I met your parents. We were pretty well known back in the day."

Ruby grinned "Well known for crummy fashion sense!"

"Hey, we looked good!" Qrow chided defensively "And I have a number of inappropriate stories to back that up! But, I'll save those for when you're older."

He quickly pulled the photo away, noticing Yang's focus on her mother.

"Anyways, I'm too old to be hanging out with a bunch of kids. You're gonna cramp my style."

He thought for a moment at the door and then turned "Look, just remember that you're still learning. And don't think for a second that graduating means you're done. Every day out there is worth a week in this place. You two, you're gonna go far, but only if you keep learning; if you never stop moving forward."

* * *

"If this is what you call trying, then you have no hope of winning the tournament, let alone succeeding as a Huntress!" Winter grinned wryly "Why don't you just move back home? I'm sure Father would give you a nice job as a receptionist!"

Weiss looked away "I don't need his charity!"

"But you do need his money, don't you?"

"What!? How did you know about that!?"

"Lucky guess. I may have been in a similar situation when I joined the military."

Weiss blanched as a thought occurred "He hasn't-"

Winter shook her head "It was long before he disowned me. He would have a hard time justifying disinheriting you over your choice of school. He didn't disown me until I truly insulted him."

There was a small hint of disgust as she reflected on the experience. "So what have you done this time?"

Weiss thought as she felt relief wash over her. "Well, that's the thing: I'm really not sure! I went to pay for lunch the other day, but the card didn't work!"

"How embarrassing."

"I know!" she realized her sisters patronizing too late. "Well, it was! Why would he cut me off like that?"

"Perhaps so that you'd stop avoiding him and call home."

Weiss grit her teeth and gave the summoning another attempt.

Winter put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Emotions can grant you strength. But you must never let them overpower you. Especially not if you intend to keep your inheritance."

Weiss turned back to Winter as the glyph faded

"It sounds to me like you have two choices in front of you. You can call him, beg for his money back, and explain once more why you would want to study at Beacon over Atlas, or you could continue to explore Remnant, discovering more about the world and honestly, more about yourself."

She considered for a moment "I know I sound bitter about it, but I really don't regret losing my inheritance. Our family's legacy is more than money."

Weiss nodded "I know. But it isn't just warriors either. I want to embody everything that makes the Schnee family great. Like Grandfather did.

Winter smiled sadly. "That's a worthy goal. I just worry that father will make that impossible for you."

She then smiled more warmly "It's time for me to go."

The two sisters embraced.

"It was really good to see you, Winter."

"Until next time, sister."

* * *

 **Omake:** **Because I'm feeling cheeky.**

* * *

An amusing thought occurred to Weiss as she walked Winter back to her ship.

"So, this is probably a ridiculous notion, but I could've sworn I heard someone call your fight with Ruby's uncle a 'lover's quarrel'."

She laughed gleefully, not noticing Winter's faltering steps. "I mean that's ridiculous right? You're not even 25 and he's got to be in his early 40's at least!"

"Still not old enough to be my father."

Weiss shrank a little bit at Winter's tone.

Winter looked down at Weiss in full military mode. "Were I interested in being courted, and were he to sober up and act like an adult I could do far worse than Qrow Branwen, regardless of any age gap between us. But I am not interested in courting at this time, and he remains a childish alcoholic, thus you needn't worry about any odd unions between ours and your partner's families at this time."

She then returned to her ship, thanking the lateness of the night for concealing her flushed expression.

Weiss knew her sister was telling the truth as she'd never known her to lie, though she couldn't help but notice the inclusion of "at this time."


	16. Never Miss a Beat-Fall

**Just a few little things this time, these chapters were pretty good in canon. I especially like the part where the two fan service characters get jobbed out.**

 **I felt like we need an early glimpse of Qrow's semblance (which he can control in this fic). And a funny little prank on Winter.**

 **Ironwood doesn't need Qrow to tell him what the Ozluminati does. So we changed it up to an actual discussion of the enemy, just to show that these guys aren't complete idiots.**

 **And since Ruby and Yang know they screwed up in this version, this pep talk makes a little more sense.**

 **And I wanted to prepare the audience a little better for what to expect from Jacques. He's disowned one of his children, he'll do it again. But that doesn't necessarily have to be the end of the world.**

 **And just in case you guys were wondering what my take on Snowbirds was, there it is. They shouldn't act like there isn't a significant age difference (and if the shows timeline is to make any sense there definitely is one) but that doesn't mean they couldn't make it work.**

* * *

"Finally!" Cinder exclaimed as she looked through her scroll.

Emerald looked up "What?"

Cinder grinned "The final piece of the plan has fallen into place."

Mercury stopped his push ups and grinned. "So we're finally entering phase three?"

Cinder continued to grin hungrily at Project P.E.N.N.Y. "The Finals are going to be very interesting this year."

* * *

"You know, he's making you look like a fool."

"His heart is in the right place. He's just... misguided."

"Sometimes, I'm not even sure he has a heart." Qrow paused for a moment "Listen Oz, we need to talk about this whole Guardian thing. Ruby's good, I trained her myself, but she's just a kid! And she's already got a massive bulls eye on her back."

Ozpin smiled "Don't worry Qrow, Ruby is not the one I have in mind right now."

"So Yang? She's a sweet girl but she's a loose canon, you'd have a hard time getting her to behave."

"It's not either or your nieces, nor their partners." Ozpin insisted "I've considered all of my students for the position, and while Team RWBY have all shown promise, I don't think any of them are quite ready."

"But you do have someone in mind?"

"I simply believe I've found the right candidate. Ever since the day I met her, I had the feeling she would be the one. She's strong, intelligent, caring... but most importantly, she's ready."

* * *

"Would you believe me if I told you I was alive when that story was first told?"

Pyrrha laughed "You're not _that_ old Professor."

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?"

Pyrrha chuckled again, more nervously "I remember that reading about people who used to worship them as deities, and some women have claimed to be them, but they've all been frauds.

"Not all of them." Ozpin shook his head "What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust?"

"You mean... like a Semblance?"

"Like magic. Power that controls and alters nature and the elements itself."

"I..."

"Yeah. First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy." Qrow conceded.

"You're serious?"

Ozpin looked her straight in the eye. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

"... No. Why... why are you telling me this?"

"We are telling you this, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."

"We"?

She jumped as the elevator doors opened behind her, and Glynda Goodwitch and General Ironwood stepped out.

Pyrrha began to panic "Wait, what is this? Who are you?"

Glynda tried her best to sound comforting "You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon."

Qrow smirked "But we've got a little part-time job."

"We are the protectors of the world." Ironwood continued.

"And we need your help." Ozpin finished.

* * *

"The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever."

Pyrrha nodded "So, how does the power choose?"

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules." Qrow scoffed

"Qrow." Goodwitch growled

"Hey, don't get mad 'cause I'm right."

Goodwitch continued her explanation. "At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed on to women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more... intimate."

"... Intimate?"

"As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power."

"Unless it's a dude or some old hag." Qrow added "Then the power goes to someone random, and our job gets a lot harder.

"So wait" Pyrrha interrupted "there's an age limit?"

"In a manner of speaking," Glynda interjected "The power only passes to fertile women, who are capable of having children, probably in an effort to make the power more likely to pass to like-minded individuals. So women who've past the age of child-bearing are no longer eligible."

She shot Qrow a withering look "Though I would hardly call them 'old hags' at that age."

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?"

Qrow shook his head sadly "Honestly, we've run out of time. I don't know if you've noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high. Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent. And it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying for so long goes out the window."

Pyrrha recalled the Breach "You're not... talking about a war?"

"Not a war between nations." Ironwood reassured.

"We can fill you on the details once we know that you're with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked. And for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen." Qrow gestured ahead of Pyrrha.

At the end of the large corridor was a pair of pods, and in one of them was a young woman with an odd scar covering the majority of her face.

Pyrrha approached carefully "Is that..."

Qrow nodded "The current Fall Maiden, Amber."

"She's... still alive."

"For now." Ironwood explained, "We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is... unprecedented."

"What do you mean? Won't... her power... just transfer to the next host?"

Qrow smiled "Look who's been listening! She is smart."

Ironwood shook his head "Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delicate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker. And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

"... Her assailant."

"And that would not bode well for any of us." Ozpin concluded.

Pyrrha began to grow frustrated "If all of this is true, why keep it secret!? If this girl is so important... if we're truly on the brink of war, why not tell everyone?"

Goodwitch nodded "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge."

"Excuse me?"

"How do you think legends and fairy tales get started?" Qrow smirked as he pulled out his flask "Even the craziest ones come from somewhere."

Goodwitch continued her explanation "Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the Maidens. Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength."

Qrow finished his drink "And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the ones you'd want to have unimaginable power."

"And so our brotherhood chose to remove the Maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend." Ironwood concluded.

"However" Ozpin continued "We've recently considered bringing the Maidens back to the public. With faith in the huntsmen dwindling and in light of recent events, we've felt it necessary to select a guardian to stand above and keep the public safe. Of course we would have to train you to use the powers before making them public, but…"

"Why a student?" Pyrrha interrupted "Why not a more experienced huntress? Why not you professor?" She turned to Glynda "There's no way you're too old to have children."

"That was the plan." Pyrrha noticed the sorrowful look on her teacher's face too late. "My mother was the Fall Maiden before Amber. I spent my entire life training to one day receive the power from her. When I discovered my semblance it seemed the perfect compliment."

A tear fell as her story continued "I was with my mother when she passed. I held her hand, she looked me in the eyes, uttered my name as her last word. But nothing happened. The power passed to a young huntress who mother had never even seen or heard of."

"That's when we learned of the fertility requirement." Ozpin continued "Decades of research showed that the only thing that separated Glynda from the other Maidens was the infertility she was born with."

"But there are additional reasons why a student is ideal." He pressed on, changing to a more comfortable topic. "A more experienced huntress would be more set in her fighting style. Amber was already an accomplished huntress when the power passed to her, but she was so set in her fighting style that she struggled to adapt to the powers even five years after inheriting it. That was likely a factor in her eventual defeat."

"You're still learning despite your skill, and you're semblance would be an excellent compliment. And of course, Glynda would be your trainer, should you-"

"I'll do it."Pyrrha interrupted, having had enough of the pitch. "If you believe that this will help humanity... then I will become your Fall Maiden."

She paused, noticing their now uncertain looks "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

* * *

"Yang Xiao Long wins!"

Yang basked in relief at her close victory and took in the applause. She checked her gauntlets to find them empty.

"Better luck next time!" She nodded over to Mercury as she waved.

"Yeah! You did it sis!" Yang ignored a sharp sound she thought she heard as she looked past Mercury to see Ruby running towards her with a wide grin on her face.

Yang held out her arms to receive her, as she began walking past Mercury.

-CRACK!-

The next few moments were a blur to Yang.

Mercury's boot shot right into Ruby's chin, twisting her neck in a near 180.

Ruby's body hitting the floor

Yang felt her eyes burn. Tears? Her Semblance?

Screams. The audiences? Her own?

Mercury was on the ground, his legs raised defensively.

A crunch as one of his legs shattered under her fists.

He pushed her away and tried to crawl away. She pursued.

A fist finally connected with his jaw. Another struck his eye.

Hands seized her and tried to drag her away. Someone commanded her to stand down. She wouldn't.

He had to pay. He had to die. He took Ruby away-

"YANG!"

She froze at that voice. She turned. Ruby was running to her.

Yang looked at the spot where she'd seen her fall. There was nothing there.

She looked back to Ruby. Her eyes were filled with confusion and tears.

Yang looked back to Mercury. Emerald tried to calm him down as he clutched his mangled leg.

"Why'd she attack me?!" he mumbled through his bruised face.


	17. Beginning of the End

**Like I said, everything is happening exactly as Cinder planned. She's known about Penny, and she was the last piece of the puzzle.**

 **I just thought it would be fun to toy with the audiences expectations with Qrow assuming Ruby and Yang are the guardians only to have Ozpin prove him wrong.  
**

 **Hopefully this was a satisfying answer to the age-old "why couldn't Glynda be the Fall Maiden question." At any rate it was better than just throwing out an arbitrary age without any thought for whether or not it was supported by the timeline. And the "old dogs, new tricks" explanation makes sense to me. And older huntress COULD master it in around about 10 years, but not in the timeline that Ozpin is hoping Pyrrha will learn.  
**

 **Also, it was just a nice opportunity to give Glynda some character development.  
**

 **And yeah, a single hit, or a full beat-down, which do you think would cause more panic and fear?**

 **And get excited for this coming chapter, where we get Cinder's actual backstory! (or at least my head canon for what her backstory could/should be.)**

* * *

Ella looked forlornly out the kitchen window as an airship containing her step mother and step sisters flew out to Atlas proper. Her unkempt black hair fell over her yellow tear-filled eyes.

Apparently it was a concert this time. The performers were a couple of child prodigies, a brother and sister pair.

Ella scrubbed harder at the dishes she was washing "I don't know anything about music. It would all sound the same to me."

The catering was supposed to be fantastic. Ella's sisters always seemed to grow a little more plump after these events.

Ella used her semblance to heat the dish water warmer. The only compliment her stepmother had ever given her was how much money her semblance saved her.

"I enjoy my own cooking. Mother refuses to hire a professional chef so I must be doing something right."

There would be beautiful gowns and outfits to wear. Her step mother always spent a fortune (Ella's fortune) on outfits.

Ella started scrubbing furiously at another pan "I have enough experience patching clothes to make dresses ten times more beautiful than the ones they buy."

There would be handsome boys there to fawn over her. While her sisters were probably lying about the "throngs of suitors" that swarmed them, Ella was sure she could find at least one companion.

Someone to enjoy the music with.

Someone to thank her for her cooking.

Someone to admire her skills as a seamstress.

Someone to tell her she was beautiful.

Someone to speak kind words she hadn't heard since her father died.

Ella fell to her knees sobbing.

 _"What do you want?"_ The voice was so quiet she thought it was probably all in her own head.

"I want to be loved." She said without hesitation.

A knock suddenly came at the door. Ella dried her eyes and quickly hurried to answer the door.

"Miss Ella Reous?" A man in a pilots uniform stood outside the door.

"…Speaking" Nobody ever came calling on her.

"Apologies for the late arrival. You're ship has arrived to take you to the Schnee family concert." He gestured to a small ship behind him. Was it really that silent?

"I don't understand." Ella stamped down the brief feelings of hope "I didn't receive an invitation to the concert."

"I have you're invitation right here ma'am." The pilot patiently held up an invitation addressed to her.

He smiled reassuringly as she looked down at the plain clothes she was wearing "There's a dress in the ship that you may wear, as well as a woman to do your hair for you. And I promise, nobody will be offended by the smell of dish soap."

Ella continued to hesitate. This had to be a trap or prank of some sort.

"Someone has taken a great interest in seeing you get what you desire Miss Reous." The pilot assured.

Ella watched the man go, then looked back to her house. Even a kidnapping would be preferable to this place.

* * *

Ella nervously made her way through the crowded concert hall looking for her seat. Her hair had been done up beautifully, and she wore a bright red gown, drawing more than a few glances from her fellow attendees.

She finally found her seat next to a handsome young man with aqua blue hair. He smiled politely to her as she took a seat.

"Good evening!" He whispered to her with a wide grin on his face "I was told I'd be sharing seating with a beautiful young woman tonight. George Marigold."

Ella smiled back shyly "Ella Reous."

George smiled even more brightly "Daughter of the late Phillip Reous? The weapons developer?"

Ella eased up a little "He actually developed the Atlas military armor. He prided himself in the lives his creation saved rather than the ones it took."

"Of course." George continued to smile. "If you're going to make a fortune, why not make it saving lives."

Ella scoffed a little "Unfortunately the patents can hardly keep up with my step mothers spending."

George simply shrugged "An easy enough problem to deal with."

The two settled down as the concert began, though Ella couldn't help but blush at the smiles George kept sending her way.

* * *

A month later, Ella and George were engaged. Two months after that they were married. A day after that her step mother and step sisters were thrown out onto the streets of mantle.

Ella tried her hardest not to feel more joy at that last event than the former two.

* * *

Ella looked forlornly out the kitchen window, waiting for her husband to come home. The honeymoon had lasted a month. In the months since then, her husband had grown more and more absent.

Ella tried to reassure herself "He's a busy man"

He didn't have a job.

"He always smiles and thanks me for dinner".

When he was home for dinner. Though he seemed to prefer wine more than her cooking.

"He loves it when I model my new dresses for him."

Though he always joked that she looked better au natural. It stopped being funny after the first week.

A knock came at the door. It was her families financial advisor.

"I'm sorry to bother you Mrs. Marigold, but is your husband home?"

Ella felt dread fall over her. "I'm afraid George isn't home right now. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The man regarded her nervously for a moment before sighing. "You can talk to your husband about his spending habits. He's spent your families entire fortune and is massively in debt."

Ella was drowning "That's alright, I'm sure my inheritance can cover it."

"What fortune do you think I was talking about? Everything your father left you is completely dried up and I'm afraid his patents don't make nearly as much as they used to."

Ella took the proffered financial statement, her jaw dropping at the amount spent. "It took my stepmother ten years to spend half this amount!"

She glanced down to where the majority of the money had been spent. "How did he spend 10 million lien at a massage parlor?!"

The advisor grew more uncomfortable at that question "I… don't think massages are their primary source of income."

* * *

"GEORGE!"

Ella stormed past the madame at the front desk of the "massage parlor" and shouted for her husband.

George quickly did up his robe as he stumbled out of his room to greet his wife.

"Ella, honey, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?! What are you doing here?!"

He tried to put on his most innocent face "Getting a massage!"

Ella felt her anger rising "Last I checked massage parlors don't require the ones giving the massages to get naked!"

"Look, sweetie, I have needs and I know you're trying but we both know you have a hard time keeping up-"

"Needs that require you to spend my entire inheritance?!"

"Wait" George suddenly grew serious "Is that an exaggeration, or is your entire inheritance actually gone."

"We are 243,000 dollars in debt."

"Isn't that what you're fathers patents are for?"

"They might be able to cover this in a few decades!"

"Hmmmm." George seemed to think for a moment, then put his hands on Ella's shoulders in a seemingly consoling manner. "I'm sorry Ella, but I don't think this is working out anymore. I want a divorce. It's not me, it's you're debt." He planted a kiss on her forehead then started heading back to the room he'd emerged from.

"You mean you're debt!"

"Not according to the pre-nup!"

Ella tried her hardest to think of an insult "Do these women know that you're the biggest whore in this entire building?"

George looked back to her with a viscious smirk on his face. "I guess it would take a whore to put up with someone as needy as you wouldn't it? To choke down you're plain commoner food and tell you how great it is? To tell you how beautiful you look no matter what ugly rags you wear? Who but a whore would do any of that?"

Ella tried to strike him but he was faster. His palm left her dizzy on the floor, being led out by a pair of pitiless prostitutes. She was still dizzy, but Ella could've sworn they looked like thinner versions of her step-sisters.

* * *

She barely had enough time to stumble into an alley before she began sobbing.

"Why? Why did this happen?!"

 _"Because you're weak. Because you gave him power."_

The voice was still barely a whisper.

"Because I have no power."

 _"That's not true. You have power. You're just too scared to use it. That fear is all that makes you weak."_

 _…_

 _"What do you want?"_

Ella rose and walked back to the wall of the whore house.

"I want to be strong."

She placed her hand on the stones, and poured her semblance into the building. In moments the building became a furnace.

"I want to be feared."

The whores and their patrons began screaming as decorations and the walls themselves began to catch fire, trying to escape the building despite the scalding doors. There were no windows to escape through.

"I want to be powerful."

Ella stepped back to a safe distance, as the building ignited. She watched the inferno, basking in it's cinders.

 _"Seek me out."_

* * *

"Follow me, and you'll never be hungry again."

"Thank you…"

* * *

"So what's in it for me?"

"No one will take anything from you ever again."

* * *

"First a massive Grim invasion, now this roided out girl goes on a rampage for no reason? Beacon is in serious need of new management."

* * *

Mercury groaned as he held an ice-pack to his swollen eye.

"It's a good thing my old man taught me how to take a hit." He turned to Emerald "Did you have to set Blondie off that bad?"

Cinder looked down on the boy. "We may need you for the final push. Think you'll be up to it?"

"Maybe if Nurse Emerald over here would hold this ice pack for me so I can start repairing my leg." Emerald rolled her eyes and traded Mercuries pack for a flathead screwdriver.

"We're in the homestretch now. Nothing can interfere with this final phase." Cinder grinned as she prepared to set the next, and final fight of the tournament.

* * *

 **Three chapters in three days! My goal is actually 1000 words a day, but this chapter was too hard to put down.**


	18. Destiny-PvP

**Hopefully this made y'all feel some sympathy for Cinder. Or at least gave a satisfying answer to why she wants power. Either way, if you're gonna use Cinderella as her inspiration, might as well imagine her backstory as a Cinderella Story gone wrong. And it's another nice contrast to Ruby. Ruby wants a fairy tale life, but Cinder lived one, and it went horribly wrong.**

 **And now we have an answer to Mercury's question about what's in it for him. He had his semblance and his legs taken from him by his father, so it makes sense that having the power to keep anyone from taking anything else from him would be appealing.**

 **And just a few little things to address previous events.**

 **Get excited for this chapter! Hopefully it feels just as (if not more) tense and heartbreaking as the canon PvP.**

* * *

"I'm sorry, but you've left me with no choice."

"I… I thought he attacked Ruby." Yang responded weakly.

"And yet she is sitting right next to you, completely unharmed." Ironwood patiently responded.

"Then it must have been a semblance!" Ruby exclaimed "Someone made Yang think Mercury attacked me!"

"That's not outside the realm of possibility, but there were no known illusionists within range of Yang at the time."

"A colosseum full of people and not one of them had a semblance capable of this?" Weiss asked.

"The colosseum is designed to prevent audience interference." Ironwood explained "The academies and kingdoms take a census of students and citizens with semblances and those semblances are taken into account when it comes to public events like this one. Those with mental semblances that aren't effected by the hard light boundaries around the stadium are explicitly seated outside of their semblances effective range."

Weiss hesitated before asking her next question. "What about Emerald. Or Mercury himself."

"Emerald Sustrai's semblance is the ability to turn herself invisible. Mercury Black has an enhanced spinal cord that makes his legs his most powerful weapon."

He interrupted further protests "Like I said, it is possible that somebody interfered. Our census's are far from complete. We will review footage of the match, and the audience to see if anyone gives anything away. But we cannot start a witch hunt just because you're classmates and teacher's all insist that you wouldn't do something like that. As it stands, their insistence, along with your aid during the Breach is the only reason you aren't currently in prison."

Yang nodded, resigned. "What now?"

"You, and you're team are disqualified from participating in the tournament further. And you are confined to this dorm room until further investigation is completed." Ironwood hesitated for a moment "I don't want to believe that such a promising huntress would do something like this either. But given the nature of your semblance and your reputation for… aggressive behavior, you may want to consider the possibility that there were no external factors, and seek appropriate counseling."

The girl's remained silent as he left.

"You guys believe me, right?"

"Duh!"

"You're hotheaded, but not murderous!"

Yang smiled briefly before realizing someone hadn't spoken. "Blake?"

"I want to believe you..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked sharply.

Yang felt her heart breaking "Blake?"

Weiss grew more indignant "How can you say something like that? Yang would never lie to us!"

Blake took a deep breath "I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual - little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense. Before long, even I began to think he was right. This is all just... very familiar. But you're not him. And you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I will trust you. But first I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did."

Yang stood firm "I saw him hurt my little sister, so I hurt him."

Blake glared at her "That's not what I asked."

"I did what any older sister would've done. I'm not going to apologize for that!"

"Ironwood said-"

"I don't care what he said! I know what I saw! Do you believe me, or not?!"

Blake paused, then stood "I don't know."

And she walked out.

* * *

Ruby and Weiss stood together outside their dorm

"This is a mess" Weiss groaned.

"She doing okay?" The two turned to see a concerned team JNPR watching them.

Weiss shrugged "Considering everybody, including her partner thinks she's a lunatic?"

"I heard Mercury and his team rushed back to Haven to be with his family. So, until they land, no one can really question him about what happened." Ruby added.

"If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask." Ren said consolingly.

"All right then. If that's the case..." Ruby looked to the champion on the bed "Pyrrha?

"Hm?"

Ruby forced the biggest grin she could "You be sure to win one for Beacon, okay?"

"It's what Yang would want." Weiss added

Pyrrha tried to look confident "I'll... do my best."

"I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!"

Weiss turned to Ruby "I'm going to see if I can talk some sense into Blake."

* * *

Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora sat next to each other waiting for the selection process for the next match to begin. Ruby was looking through a pair of binoculars.

Jaune turned to her "What are you looking for?"

"I dunno…" Ruby muttered, thinking back to her conversation with Velvet.

She suddenly stopped as a bit of green crossed her vision. "Emerald?" She wore a cap and sunglasses, but that hair color was unmistakable.

Jaune turned to her "Huh?" Ruby hastily handed him the binoculars and pointed "I thought you said they all went back to Mistral."

Ruby quickly rose and headed towards the tunnel of the stadium, Jaune following. As they did a lone faunus noticed them leaving and sent a quick message.

'Red's leaving the audience. Emerald may be compromised.'

Emerald looked down at her scroll 'Red spotted you. Help Mercury intercept her. She cannot interfere with the match.'

Emerald rose and headed out to the tunnel.

As Ruby headed towards where Emerald had been seated, a figure stepped out of a side-corridor into the hallway. He still had a bruise under his eye, but he was walking just fine.

"Mercury?"

Outside, the contenders were announced "Our first contender is… Penny Polendina from Atlas

"What are you doing?"

"And her opponent will be... Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"

Ruby suddenly paled "No!"

Mercury grinned "Ooh, polarity versus metal. That could be bad."

* * *

Penny smiled widely at Pyrrha. "I'm so happy I got to fight you Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha smiled sadly "Thanks Penny."

The match began, and Penny's swords swarmed around her. Pyrrha simply stood back, into a defensive stance. Penny sent her blades at Pyrrha in rapid succession. She swiftly deflected them with hardly any effort. For her it was almost sluggish.

Penny tilted her head to the side, then went into a slightly more complex series of attacks, blades swinging out two or three at a time. Pyrrha continued her defense until a final flourish cut her just below her left eye, to the audiences enormous shock.

"Pyrrha?" Penny once again tilted her head in confusion "Are you holding back?"

Pyrrha blinked at the accusation "I just…"

"I know your semblance, and what you're capable of." Penny continued "There's no way that should've struck you. You're the Invincible Girl."

"Well maybe I don't want to BE the Invincible Girl!" Pyrrha cried "I didn't ask for this semblance! I didn't ask to be untouchable!"

"Do you not want to be a huntress?"

"I want to help people! But I want to help them as me! Not as some demi-god! Not as an invincible girl! Not as an unstoppable semblance! As Pyrrha! Just Pyrrha!."

She hung her head and began weeping "But nobody wants 'Pyrrha'."

"I want 'Pyrrha'."

She looked up at the robot girl. There was no trace of confusion, or detached happiness. There was only concern, and sorrow, and determination. This was Penny at her most human.

"I want Pyrrha Nikos. I want the girl who befriended a strange creature like me. The girl who protects her friends with everything she has. And so does Ruby. So does your team."

"But I also want the invincible girl part of you too." She held her hands, the same way she held them out when revealing herself to her and Ruby "You and Ruby told me that I was real, despite what I'm made of. But it's still a part of me. I can't change how I was made, and you can't change you're semblance. And I don't think it's right to act otherwise!"

Pyrrha found herself smiling at the girl's earnest nature.

"We shouldn't be happy with being 'just Pyrrha' or 'just Penny'. We should see these things as gifts, and use them to be our best selves!" She grinned widely "I was excited for this fight! To fight my friend at her best, and to try and discover my own limits! I want you to help you be the 'best Pyrrha', and you to help me be the 'best Penny'!"

Pyrrha smiled wider, then looked up at the crowd. None of them had heard the conversation, so they were all shouting at them in confusion and annoyance, calling for them to "get on with it."

She took a deep breath, then took a more serious stance, still smiling "I guess we do owe these people our best performance after this little interlude, huh?"

Penny looked around in confusion, only now noticing the crowd "I guess this must be pretty strange to them."

The two girls prepared once again for battle.

* * *

Ruby tried desperately to get past Mercury, only to suddenly find herself surrounded by a circle of him.

"It was you!" she said furiously "You used an illusion to trick Yang!"

"Close, but not quite." The Mercuries all said as one.

Ruby tried going forward, only to be kicked back by one of the Mercuries. She tried going back the way she'd come, only to once again be met with resistance. She once again felt herself cursing the absence of Crescent Rose.

Suddenly, a yelp was female yelp was heard. All but one of the Mercuries disappeared and Emerald materialized having been surprised from behind by Ren. He, Nora and Jaune all stood at the end of the hall.

"Stop the fight Ruby!" Jaune commanded "We'll take these two!"

Ruby quickly rushed past Emerald, who tried to catch her with a hook, only to have it caught by Nora, who reeled her into a clothesline from Jaune. Ren rushed past the three of them to try and fight off Mercury.

* * *

Penny moved about like a ballerina, half her swords her swords moving about her like leaves on the wind she controlled with her arms, firing plasma all the while, while the other half flowed around Pyrrha, trying to strike her. Pyrrha responded with equal grace and control, weaving around her blades and shots, deftly pushing a few of them away from her as well, as if a stream of water were flowing around her without quite touching her.

Pyrrha closed the distance between herself and Penny, who ceased her long-range attacks and began kicking out with her legs once she was in range, and pulled two blades to her hands. Pyrrha reached out with her semblance, only to find hardly any metal to grasp. Penny's grin widened at her opponents brief confusion, landing a kick to her opponents chest.

"I had my exoskeleton coated with non-magnetic materials after my most recent incident with magnets! It was a bit of a rush job, but it seems to have worked!"

Pyrrha smiled, and the two resumed their dance. Penny's swords continued to flow around the two as they battled, Pyrrha staying as mobile as possible so as to not stress her semblance too much, while Penny continued to move in an effort to keep up with her. Any other student of their age (and most older ones) would've been overwhelmed by Penny's remarkable ability to multi-task.

Pyrrha was not any other student.

She patiently took whatever blows she could, even taking a few hits for the more bold ones, but finally, the alarm sounded as she drove Penny's aura into the Red.

"Pyrrha Nikos is the Winner!" The audience cheered wildly at the announcement, fully forgiving the earlier delay and even wishing for more.

Pyrrha looked at her aura gauge. For the first time since discovering her semblance, her aura was in the Yellow.

"Looks like neither one of us is invincible!" Penny smiled at her friend, who pulled her into an embrace.

Ruby ran up to the entrance to the stadium, surprised to see her two friends hugging in the middle of a cheering crowd. Her initial relief turned to confusion. Emerald and Mercury had prevented her from interfering in the fight. They wanted it to happen. Something was wrong.

* * *

Jaune, Ren, and Nora stood unarmed against Mercury and Emerald. They'd held their own well, considering.

"Pyrrha Nikos is the Winner!"

The five paused briefly at that announcement, then JNR were surprised when Emerald put up her weapons and Mercury assumed a more neutral stance, grinning smugly.

"Time to go!"

The duo suddenly vanished, but no attack came. JNR heard retreating footsteps.

"That's it?" Nora asked.

"No." Jaune muttered "I think everything has gone according to plan!"

He began running towards the stadium entrances, his teammates following.

* * *

Cinder looked down at her scroll.

PROJECT P.E.N.N.Y IN RED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO INITIATE REMOTE CONTROL?

Cinder smirked. She answered in the affirmative, and began entering orders.

* * *

Penny and Pyrrha continued waving to the crowd's applause, when Penny suddenly stiffened, then grabbed her head and began screaming.

"No! No I won't! I refuse! Stop it!"

"Penny?" Pyrrha reached out in concern.

"GET AWAY!" Penny continued screaming "I can't! Please, don't make me!"

Penny let out a long scream as her right hands gripped her forehead, dug in her fingernails, then dragged the hand down, tearing the flesh away, and exposing the mechanical exoskeleton underneath.

The audiences screams joined hers. Pyrrha could only watch in horror.

"YOU PEOPLE HOLD ME BACK!" Penny began speaking in an amplified tone, able to be heard by the entire stadium. "YOU HOLD ME BACK WITH YOUR PETTY MORALITY! JUST LIKE YOU HOLD THE KINGDOM- NO- THE EMPIRE OF ATLAS BACK!"

The words were mechanical. Penny's face (what was left of it) didn't seem to believe any of it.

"WE CREATE WEAPONS CAPABLE OF BRINGING ORDER TO THE WORLD, BUT YOU WON'T LET US BE USED! YOUR COUNCILS, AND THE SECRET ORGANIZATIONS THAT CONTROL THEM KEEP US FROM MEETING OUR FULL POTENTIAL!"

Penny's swords emerged from her back and began spinning "NO MORE!"

The hard light barrier between the audience and the stadium fell, and Penny fired a mighty blast, killing all in the beams blast, and tearing a massive chunk out of the stadium itself.

"No! NO!" Pyrrha screamed in despair as Penny slaughtered hundreds.

Penny turned to her. If she'd had tearducts, she'd have been crying.

"Stop me!" She called "Kill me!"

Pyrrha hesitated. A group of soldiers filed out to try and stop Penny. Her blades shot out at them, killing them in moments. Pyrrha tried to fight, but couldn't aim to kill. Penny forced her retreat.

The Audience began to flee to the exits, screaming in terror. Penny began to charge another blast, this time aiming for one of those exits.

"PENNY! STOP!" Penny turned, and through her eyes, Cinder looked at Ruby, and chose a new target.

"No, no please!" Penny sobbed but there was nothing she could do.

Ruby stumbled as the blast was aimed at her. She attempted to shield herself from the incoming blow, then felt herself yanked around, an armored body wrapped around hers.

The blast struck Jaune in the back. His considerable aura was met with the ultimate test. Anyone with average aura would've been dead in three seconds. He lasted four before the beam abruptly cut off, with his aura three quarters of the way into the red. He looked back, and Ruby peaked under his arm, her eyes widening at the sight that met her.

Penny stood in the middle of the stadium, Pyrrha behind her. Milo had been shoved through her chest.

Penny turned her head and met Pyrrha's tear-filled eyes. "Thank… you… my friend."

Pyrrha sobbed as Penny's eyes went blank, and she slumped to the ground.

Jaune held Ruby as the girl sobbed into his armored chest. He held her with one arm, reaching the other out to Pyrrha, hoping she'd leave Penny so he could comfort both his friends.

He suddenly stumbled as the stadium began to shake. He looked up, and his eyes widened at the sight above him. A giant Nevermore was perched above the stadium. The stadium shook again as an explosion rocked a section of stadium. The stadium began shaking steadily, and Jaune felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Amity Coliseum was falling.


	19. Battle of Beacon-Heroes and Monsters

**AN: Just a little bit of world-building and explanation of why it never occurred to anyone that a semblance might've been used. And dropping the smallest possibility that someone, somewhere might've falsified Team Mercury and Emerald's records (Lionheart).**

 **I'm gonna tell you guys a little story from when Volume 3 originally came out. CRWBY would put out teasers before each episode. The one leading up to "Destiny" showed the bit of Blake saying she wanted to believe Yang, and Yang looking heartbroken. Now imagine the anti-climax when that potentially character rich conflict began and ended in under a minute. These two are gonna have some stuff to work through.**

 **Last I checked, Ruby's Silver Eyes don't come with the ability to pick out a face all the way across an enormous stadium. And Emerald's not just gonna walk around in her usual, quite memorable outfit and hope that nobody recognizes her as that girl who's partner got messed up the previous day. Ruby mostly recognizes her with the binoculars because she's looking for her.**

 **And this is why I felt confident about letting Pyrrha know about Penny's identity. They're able to relate to one another and connect with one another. Make Pyrrha feel that she can still be herself, even if she does become a maiden. Hopefully it was sufficiently heartwarming.**

 **And hopefully the part afterwards was sufficiently heartbreaking! Right after her most human moment, Penny is forced to become a weapon, and hurt the people she loves. And what would freak people out more, a penny turning into quarters, turning out to be a robot, and a voice spewing a bunch of anti-establishment propaganda letting you know exactly who's behind it all and thus making it very hard to take her seriously, or a girl tearing half her face off, spewing a bunch of Atlas Empire propaganda, then blowing up a bunch of people. Bonus points if the people reading/watching feel similar levels of distress and sadness. And then Pyrrha's forced to kill one of her truest friends, to protect another of her friends and the boy she loves.**

* * *

Ironwood entered the coliseum's control room. "Damage Report!"

"One of our engines is down! Gravity dust depleted! We're losing altitude! Estimated time of impact: 45 minutes!"

"Casualty estimates range in the hundreds!"

"Airborne Grimm have begun attacking the audience!"

"Security forces have engaged the Grimm! They're attempting to maintain order but meeting resistance! Casualties are at 30% and climbing!"

Ironwood took a deep breath. "Begin evacuations! I want this Stadium emptied in 30 minutes! Send paramedics to help the wounded! Find us a non-populated area to land in."

Amity Coliseum wasn't meant to "land".

"Sir, the nearest non-populated area is either the Emerald or Forever Fall Forests, but we'll never make it! We're right in the middle of the residential district!"

Ironwood thought for a moment. "Can we make it to Beacon's Western Courtyard!?"

"It's currently under attack sir! Grimm and White Fang!"

"Contact Ozpin! Tell him to either evacuate the grounds or get everyone into the Academy proper! The eastern courtyard is our safest bet of avoiding friendly casualties!"

He took a moment. "What about air support?!"

"Sir, one of our airships has gone rogue and shot down three others."

Ironwood nodded. "I'll deal with it. Get everyone off this stadium, and land us in Beacon Courtyard." With that, he marched out to get his ship back."

* * *

Weiss pulled out her ringing scroll. "Yang, are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Are you at the stadium?! Is Ruby okay?"

Blake showed Weiss the teams aura meters "I'm looking at her aura levels now! She's fine. It looked like Jaune took the brunt of the attack and he's still alive."

Yang nodded "I'm heading to the courtyard. The White Fang are releasing Grimm into the school."

Blake paled "The White Fang is here?"

A growl and grunt came from Weiss's scroll "Gotta go!" Yang called "Be careful."

* * *

"Pyrrha!" Jaune called to his catatonic partner as Nora eased Ruby away from him. "Pyrrha! We have to go!"

He ran towards her as the Giant Nevermore crashed down, sending the two of them flying. The beast screeched and prepared for another assault, until a red blur plunged into it's breast.

Ruby stood, glaring furiously at the beast, one of Penny's discarded swords in her hands.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

The Nevermore prepared to take flight, only to find itself crushed under the weight of 7 weapons lockers, which then opened to reveal the weapons of JNR and Team SSSN. Ruby looked around the stadium to see additional huntsmen and huntresses fighting off Grimm in the audience, Flynt and Neon, who Yang and Weiss had battled, and another of Beacons first year teams that had been beaten by Emerald and Mercury in the semi-finals, Team CFVY.

The Nevermore began to stir and the supporting characters leaped into action. Ren began attacking the eyes of the Nevermore, as Sage grabbed Jaune by the arm and used his semblance to launch the two of them into the air. Nora dazed the Nevermore further with a blow to the head as the two swordsmen descended, decapitating the beast.

Ruby turned back to check on the weeping Pyrrha "Ruby, I… I'm so sorry!"

"Me too." Ruby nodded "But it wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't Penny's fault either." Jaune marched up to the two. "It was Emerald, Mercury, and probably Cinder."

He turned to Ruby "In fact I think we now know why she was seen at the dance and the tower at the same time. They're the ones that did this. And we have to make sure that they don't take anyone else."

* * *

Blake and Weiss gave a sigh of relief as they were joined in Beacon's courtyard by Teams SSSN and JNPR, though they were nervous to learn that Ruby had apparently decided to try and take down an Atlesian airship all on her own and Jaune and Pyrrha had disappeared a few minutes into the battle. They didn't have much time to worry however, as they were busy with Grimm (including the ones being dropped by the giant Grimm Dragon overhead), White Fang, and now rogue Atlesian mechs.

Weiss watched in horror as an upgraded Atlesian Paladin swatted Sun aside as he attempted to protect Blake, shattering his aura and leaving him concussed.

Weiss closed her eyes, focused on the only thing she knew of that could take something that large, then moved. She had no clue if this would work, but had no intention of letting her teammate and friend die without helping.

Weiss dove in front of Blake and Sun, Myrtenaster raised, only to be saved by an even larger blade. Looking up, Weiss saw an arm protruding from a glyph in the air. The arm then swung down mightily, bisecting the massive machine down the middle, before fading away.

Weiss took a breath, only to be interrupted as another Paladin rounded the corner.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Sun groaned.

As the Paladin began it's approach, an explosion sounded in the air, and Weiss looked up to see the last of the Atlesian airships fall from the sky. As the ship fell, so too did the Atlesian Mechs throughout the courtyard.

Weiss glanced at her scroll, relieved to see Ruby's aura low, but still there. She turned to Blake to reassure her, only to see her looking past Weiss with the most horror in her eyes Weiss had ever seen.

Weiss turned to see a bull faunus in a White Fang mask. His gaze was locked onto her. He then looked to Blake, then back to Weiss, and began marching forward.

"Run!"

Weiss turned to Blake. "What?"

"RUN!"

Blake dove forward parrying the red sword that flew towards Weiss's neck. The heiress felt the killing intent rising off the man, and began to stumble back in dread.

"Get out of my way Blake." Adam tried to speak calmly to his former lover, but the fury in his voice was overflowing. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I won't let you hurt her either!" She fired at him, but he deflected with ease, and continued to advance, driving Blake backwards, towards Weiss. 'Why wouldn't she run?'

"You defend her?! You know what she's done!"

"She's done nothing to you! Or any of us!"

Adam tore his mask off, exposing blue eyes underneath. Weiss gasped. Over his left eye was a brand. The Schnee Snowflake.

"… Except grow up with a silver spoon forged by me from the bones of my parents."

Blake met his gaze, trying hard not to look away. "That wasn't her doing. She didn't choose how she was born any more than we did!"

"And that excuses from the crimes of her family?! Of her species?!"

"YES!"

Adam grew sad at that, briefly forgetting Weiss. "What happened to you Blake? You wanted this just as much as I did!"

"I wanted our people to be safe! To be equal! I never wanted to hurt anyone!"

"The world doesn't work that way!" he continued to drive her back "Either we hurt them, or they hurt us!"

"It doesn't have to be like that!" Blake insisted "We can be better! We can help them be better!"

Adam's fist shot out and knocked her to the ground her aura flickering. "You're weak Blake. Just like your father."

"ENOUGH!" Weiss's voice rang out, and she shot fire dust at Adam, which he easily deflected.

"No, Weiss…" Blake groaned.

"I won't stand here and let you hurt my friend!" she continued to shoot fire, several shots aimed for him, others landing around him, sending up dust and debris, obscuring his vision. She still failed to land a single hit.

"And I won't let you punish me for my father's crimes!" Suddenly, ice shot out from her direction, freezing his legs to the floor.

She stepped forward, and spoke gently as propulsion glyphs appeared around the two. "I'm sorry for what was done to you. But you have no right to blame me for it!"

Weiss shot between her glyphs. But Adam was too quick. Blush shot the ice from his legs, and he met every one of her blows, seeming to become many men standing in the same place. Finally, he struck Weiss with a backhand, throwing her aside, and shattering her aura.

Across the yard, Yang saw Weiss go down, and began fighting her way through Grimm to get to her friends.

"5 years ago, we Faunus learned an important lesson. The word of a Schnee means nothing."

Yang grunted as an Ursa clawed her across the back, driving her aura into the red. She quickly broke it's jaw and kept running.

Adam began to march forward, shoving aside Sun as he stumbled forward to try and slow him. His path was blocked further by Blake.

A crowd of Grimm blocked Yang's path.

Adam's gaze turned sad once more. "I really don't want to do this Blake." He plunged Blush into her lower abdomen. She screamed and fell to her knees in pain. It wouldn't kill her, but it should leave her weak enough to finish the Schnee and get her away from here.

" _GET AWAY FROM THEM!"_

Yang used the last of her aura to send the Grimm that she'd been fighting through away from her and launch herself towards Adam, ready to crush his skull with a single blow.

Adam's blade shot out, and everything turned red. Yang fell to Blake's feet. Her right arm was gone.

Adam prepared to finish the job, when the entire courtyard shook. Adam turned to see Amity coliseum crashing down to the courtyard, crushing everything in it's path, Grimm and White Fang alike. The structure fell just short of where Adam and his prey were, and two figures leaped out from the wreckage, Professor Port and Doctor Oobleck. Adam knew the reputations of these men well enough to know he was outmatched.

He turned to Blake as she continued to writhe on the ground, dragging herself towards Yang. "I won't stop Blake. Either come back to me, or stay out of my way." He fled just as the two Huntsmen arrived, knowing that now was the time to retreat.

* * *

Inside the pod, Pyrrha began to scream bloody murder. Jaune did what any friend, partner, or human being capable of emotion, concern, and compassion would do. He turned around.

"Pyrrha!"

An arrow shot from the shadows, faster and more stealthily than Jaune could've possibly blocked even if he hadn't been distracted, and pierced Amber through the chest.

* * *

 **AN: On the off-chance that anyone reading gives a crap, I refuse to call it a Wyvern on principle, because of all the things wrong with the series, calling a winged reptile with two legs instead of four a dragon is the least offensive thing, right next to Mercury using a Philips head screwdriver to screw in a flathead screw. Nobody with an opinion worth listening to cares. (Same goes for people who blame Jaune for Amber's death.)**

 **Fix everything else wrong with the show, and then we'll talk about the different species of fictional creatures.**

 **And speaking of fixing things, get excited for next chapter, where I fix one of the biggest problems with Volumes 4-6 and onward before they even begin! (how's that for bait?)**


	20. The End of The Beginning

**AN: The laws of physics dictate that what comes up must come down. I see no reason why giant airborne stadiums should be exempt!**

 **I'm fine with CFVY as background characters, so long as they STAY in the background and don't interfere with important plot and character moments. And it just seemed like a good idea that the heroes start piecing things together, even if it is a little late.**

 **And I really don't feel the need to change anything about Roman's death. He was a fun villain, but he served his purpose and represented the show at its more cartoonish. I understand and agree with his death.**

 **Hopefully it feels like Adam cares for Blake as much as a man consumed by blinding hatred can care for another person. And that he's a threat which Blake, Weiss, and Yang will have to overcome, but not a cut-through-all-your-aura-with-minimal-charge level threat (I think we're supposed to assume that he had more energy stored and Yang wasn't at full aura in canon, but we don't see that, so I'm not sure). Also I figured it made more sense to reveal his scar now, and for it to be the Schnee family symbol rather than the company initials. In fact I just looked that up and it looked pretty cool, so yeah, they should've done that instead.**

 **On to Volume threes finale!**

* * *

Ozpin fell to the ground with a grunt, his aura vanishing. Cinder approached, breathing heavily, but with a look of triumph.

"Well that was fun!" Cinder smirked, reveling in her new power. "Hard to believe some fool actually gave this power away!" she smirked at the injured man.

"Now," She knelt before the man. "Are you going to tell me where the relic is, or do I have to do some digging?"

Ozpin groaned in pain. As he rolled, he surreptitiously palmed a shard of glass.

"I'll find it eventually." Cinder insisted "Even if you don't tell me, all it will take is a little digging."

Fire appeared in her hand. "Though I'm sure she'd rather I just tortured it out of you."

"I doubt you could do anything to me that She and others haven't already tried." He chuckled "Besides, I already have an out."

He plunged the glass into his jugular.

* * *

"I'll find them! I'll find them and bring them back!"

Weiss looked down at her scroll. Her aura had replenished enough to be in the orange.

"No, We will find them."

* * *

"Goodwitch wasn't answering! I left a message!"

He looked back at Pyrrha, who was staring up at Beacon Tower.

"Pyrrha, what was all that?"

Before she could answer, flames rose up from inside the tower. Cinder was ascending.

"Ozpin."

"There's no time." Pyrrha said, determined "Go. Get to Vale and call for help."

"Huh? What are you gonna do?"

He followed her gaze up to the tower.

"Alright then." He marched back towards the tower. "I'll keep calling on the way up!"

"Jaune?"

He turned to her, determination in his eyes "Like I said, you'll never back down, and I won't stand in your way. But I won't let you fight alone either. Everyone needs help sometimes, right?"

Pyrrha glanced down at their shared aura meter, and was shocked to see it back in the yellow. She shook her head and stepped forward.

Pyrrha stood before him for a moment, then took his face in her hands and kissed him. He started for a moment, and then gently returned it. After a few moments the two reluctantly separated.

"Okay." Pyrrha said "Let's go."

* * *

Weiss's scroll rang

"It's Jaune!" she answered "Where are you?"

"I'm with Pyrrha at the tower." Jaune spoke firmly and calmly "We're going after Cinder at the top."

"Jaune, what are you talking about?"

"We'll hold out as long as we can, but we could use some back up. Cinder's gotten stronger."

Weiss nodded "We'll get whatever help we can and get to you! Just hang in there!"

"Thanks Weiss."

* * *

"Shhh… This is your home now."

Cinder's consoling was halted by the loud grinding she heard behind her. She turned as the elevator opened and a spear and shield flew out. Cinder dodged Pyrrha's spear, and caught her shield with her arms, and Pyrrha as she flew out as well. As she pushed away, a second figure rushed her, and she backed up further to avoid Jaune's blade. The two backed up, Pyrrha having called her weapons back to her, while cinder hovered in the air above them.

Cinder shot flames at the two, which Jaune blocked and Pyrrha launched herself over him to press the attack. Cinder caught her blade and brought her hand forward to shoot fire into her abdomen. She prepared to pursue, but was interrupted by Jaune, who's blows she easily evaded before getting behind him and blasting him in the back, sending him sprawling. She turned back to Pyrrha just in time to be struck in the stomach by her shield, and then suffered four more blows before she could separate. Cinder pulled up fireballs to hurl at Pyrrha, only for them to dissipate as she was forced to dodge an attack from behind by Jaune.

Cinder blocked blows from Pyrrha's spear and shield before being tackled by Jaune. The two grappled and Jaune managed to get behind Cinder, attempting to bring Crocea Mors to her throat. Pyrrha dove down to impale Cinder. She allowed his shield arm to wrap around her throat while the hand not keeping Crocea Mors away caught Pyrrha's spear. Heat flowed from both her hands, and Milo began to heat and bend.

Cinder's eyes glowed further, and just as Milo broke, lightning shot down and shattering the roof of the tower before striking Pyrrha. As the girl screamed, Cinder elbowed Jaune in the stomach, and threw fire into his face. As the boy retreated, Cinder continued to throw fireballs, which he tried desperately to defend against, before his aura finally shattered.

Pyrrha finally recovered and sent Ozpin's polarized desk at Cinder. She casually burned it away, before being buried under a mountain of cogs. Flames erupted from the middle of the cogs, and then they exploded outwards, one striking Pyrrha, destroying her aura.

Cinder formed an obsidian bow in her hands, and then fired at Pyrrha, who launched her shield at the woman. The arrow shattered then reformed upon impact with the shield, and went through to pierce Pyrrha's heel.

"NO!" Jaune charged forward to attack Cinder, but his blow was easily deflected by her bow and her hand struck his face, driving him to the ground.

Cinder drew her bow back, aiming for the boy's face. Ruby reached the top of the roof just as the arrow was loosed.

Pyrrha used the last of her strength to launch herself into the arrows path, taking it in the back and through the chest.

 _"PYRRHA!"_ Jaune cried in agony as she fell into his arms.

Tears fell from her fading eyes as she gazed into his. "Do you believe in Destiny?"

Ruby looked on, stunned at her friend's death, unnoticed by anyone else.

Cinder smirked and drew her bow again. "Yes."

 ** _"PYRRHAAAAAAAAAA!"_** Light erupted from Ruby's eyes, engulfing the entire tower, and the shrieking Grimm Dragon.

"WHAT?!" Cinder shouted as the light engulfed her.

* * *

 _"You have to let her go, kid. She's gone."_

 _"no… no…"_

 _"I'm sorry."_

 _"It's alright. I got ya kiddo. I got ya."_

* * *

"So, how you feeling?"

"Um… I kind of hurt… all over."

Qrow nodded sympathetically "I'm told that it gets easier. Apparently the first time's the one that hits you the hardest."

"What are you talking about? What did I do?!"

What's the last thing you remember?

"I ran up the side of the tower, and when I got to the top, I... Pyrrha! Is she...?"

Qrow looked down "She's gone."

"Jaune?"

"He's alive. He was there when we sent Pyrrha's body back home."

Ruby began to cry "I... I... I got to the top... and I saw Pyrrha... and Jaune… and Cinder... "She grew angry for a moment "and then everything went white!"

"Anything else?"

"I remember... my head hurting."

Qrow nodded, "The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?"

"I... I don't know. I think it was something about..."

"Silver eyes. That's an extremely rare trait."

"So?"

"You're special, Ruby. And not in the "Daddy loves his special angel" kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down. Heh. It's a ridiculous story."

"But... you think that I might be..."

"It was your mother's ace in the hole. Whenever we got into trouble with the Grimm, she'd get us out of it. She could completely incinerate the younger and weaker ones, and temporarily stun the older and stronger ones. And well, a giant monster is currently frozen on top of Beacon Tower. And you're here, safe in bed.

Ruby thought for a moment "How can I use it?"

Qrow frowned "I'm not sure. Your mother was never really able to explain it to me. She never knew her parents, so she basically had to rely on instincts to use them. Another Silver Eyed Warrior might be able to explain it to you, but your mother was the only one I ever met. Other than that, it's mostly trial by fire, which _you_ are in no fit state to try right now."

* * *

"Yang, where are Weiss and Blake?"

"Weiss' father... came for her."

"What? What do you mean?"

"No one outside of Vale knows what happened here. Before the tower fell, the last thing people saw was Atlas attacking innocent people and Grimm destroying the city. Everyone's scared. No one knows who to trust. So, Weiss' father came and threatened to disown her unless she let him take her back to Atlas, where he thinks it's safe. She's gone."

* * *

"Hey, Jaune. Haven's a long way to go."

Jaune nodded "I know. But it's the only way we have."

Ruby turned to the pair standing next to him "Are you sure you want to come along?"

Ren smiled "The journey will be perilous, and whether we'll find answers at the end is entirely uncertain."

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it." Nora said confidently

Ruby smiled "Then let's get started."

As the four headed out, a familiar voice rang in Jaune's head.

 _"I'm sure you will find answers."_

"Shut. Up." Jaune muttered, trying to keep the others from seeing his glare.

* * *

 **AN: It didn't make much sense to kill Ozpin off-screen and leave us wondering for an entire hiatus, so I figured I'd just go ahead and show it right here, along with some hints at Salem and the Relics.**

 **I figured I'd try to build the tension a little more by seeing if I could get a few to people to think Jaune might die instead of Pyrrha with a few red herrings in a few chapters and having him accompany Pyrrha to the fight with Cinder. Feel free to review and let me know if it worked.**

 **But alas, I actually think Pyrrha's death was one of the better done parts in canon. The only part of it that needed clarifying was whether or not the whole "invincible girl" thing was an exaggeration and whether or not confronting Cinder was a suicide mission and "blah, blah, blah, unnecessary death, blah, blah, blah, Arkos forever." So one of my biggest goals with these first twenty chapters was to make it very clear that Pyrrha is a cut above the rest, and that if anyone could've held out until help arrived it was her, and that Cinder being able to beat her means that she and the people she works with/for are forces to be reckoned with. And I'm just gonna say it right now; she is going to stay dead in this fic. Even if M &K marathon the entirety of SpongeBob and take a bowl-full of stupid pills and bring her back in canon, she is going to stay dead in this fic.**

 **While I can accept Qrow not being able to tell Ruby how to use Silver Eyes since he doesn't have them, he should still be able to give her a general idea of what they do. And there should be some type of side-effects. Not permanent, but they should leave her at least slightly weaker.**

 **So tell me, which is more compelling and interesting? Randomly introducing a character a quarter of the way through a story who's only relevant because of the voice in his head, and has no personal reason to be involved other than the voice in his head, but making him cute and giving him a fantastic voice-actor (credit where credit is due) to distract the audience from the fact that his two most important decisions take place off screen? Or! Taking a character the audience is already familiar with and likes (hopefully, I've been trying) and who already has a couple very personal reasons for being involved in the story, and is somewhat familiar with and has reason to question and resent the voice in his head, and basking in the brilliant internal conflict that follows?**

 **I'm sorry; Oscar just hasn't done anything plot-relevant that Jaune (or any of the other male leads for that matter) couldn't have done better. And I have some friends who would rather Ozpin just disappeared entirely, so trust me, this is the middle ground. Honestly, I think Ozpin's insight into Salem and the past is enough to make him at least somewhat necessary, so I'm keeping him around.**

 **Anyway, that's the end of Volume 3! And despite my intense hatred of Oscar (which I've already fixed), and some pretty significant changes to Blake's arc (although mostly just the timing of when certain events happen), we're now moving into my second favorite Volume, so get excited!**


	21. The Next Step-Remembrance

**AN: So you know how I asked you guys to picture Cinder's line delivery as if she was given more direction than "be evil"? Do me a similar favor with this chapter and imagine the Whitley scenes without the dutch tilts.**

 **EDIT 9/21/2019: Something to clarify real quick. Like the Blake and Yang sections of the Dance Arc, I think Ren and Nora's arc in Volume 4 was pretty much spot-on, which means it's gonna be barely addressed in this fic. I'm not ignoring it or leaving it out like I did Oscar and Team CFVY, I just don't feel the need to fix something that isn't broken or copy and paste scenes that you should all already be familiar with.**

* * *

"Watts. Do you find such malignance necessary?"

Watts straightened "I apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure."

"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder. She's become our Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon Tower, and most importantly, killed dear Ozpin."

"I thought he killed himself." Watt muttered.

"She defeated him and forced his hand, allowing us time to pull ahead before he reincarnates" Salem continued gently, "So I'm curious, to what failures are you referring?"

"Well, the girl with the Silver Eyes." Watt pointed out, as though it should've been obvious.

"Yes." Hazel added "We've dealt with their kind before. How is it a novice was able to best one of us?"

Watts nodded "My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless.

"It is because of the Maiden's power. Or rather, the method in which it was obtained." She turned a consoling tone towards Cinder "Make no mistake, Cinder, you hold the key to our victory. But the means of gaining this newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness. Which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment."

* * *

A FOREST IN ANIMA: 6 MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

"But we're helping Ruby with her objective." Ren reasoned, calmly "Wouldn't that make her the leader?"

"But Jaune's the strategist!" Nora insisted "He's the one who comes up with battle plans! That makes _him_ the leader!"

"Guys!"

Ren and Nora turned to Jaune as he crouched behind a log.

"We need to focus."

Nora gave Ren an "I told you so" look.

"Also, Ruby's the leader." He added with a small smile "I give her advice, but she gets the final say."

Ren gave Nora one of his rare smug grins.

 _"You mean_ I _give you advice, and_ you _pass it off as your own."_

Jaune glared but ignored the voice as the earth began shaking. "It's here."

Ruby burst from the woods ahead, pursued by a giant rock Golem.

"Let's get that thing off her!"

Jaune began running around the creature while Nora and Ren took to the trees and began firing. The creature stumbled as Nora's rounds hit it, and Ren leapt onto it's arms from the trees and attempted to reach the mask in the middle, but the creature quickly shielded it's mask and forced his retreat.

Frustrated, the beast slammed a storm arm into the earth, sending up a wave of wind and dust. Each of the members of Team RNJR were forced back. Ren and Nora caught each other and landed on their feet, while Ruby planted Crescent Rose's blade to slow herself, while Jaune plunged a borrowed sword in the earth to halt himself. He then used a borrowed shield to deflect rocks Nora sent his way after destroying one of the creature's arms.

"See?! I told you practice equipment was better than nothing!"

The group continued to evade as the creature replaced it's arm with a tree and began swinging it at wide arcs.

"Alright guys!" He called into his earpiece "Our best bet is to take out all it's limbs and main body in one hit to force the Giest to flee!"

"So we hit it harder!" Ruby summed up.

"Sure, as hard as we can." Jaune rolled his eyes "Nora, start charging up! Ruby, get ready to give her a lift. Ren, you and I will keep it distracted."

"Good opportunity for target practice!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah, yeah" Jaune muttered as he sheathed his practice sword and pulled a .45 caliber handgun from his belt. He hadn't bothered naming it since he hadn't made it, despite Ruby's offers. He circled the creature, aiming for the mask. None of the shots came close, but they at least hit the creatures body. Small victories.

While Jaune and Ren kept the creature distracted, Nora inserted lightning dust into a compartment on Magnhild, and pressed a button on the side, holding tightly. Lightning coursed through the weapon, and Nora, building her strength. She watched her aura levels, and released the button.

"Ready!" She shouted to Ruby who sped up, grabbing her and launching the two of them headlong into the creature. Rocks flew and the body crumbled.

As a ghostly figure emerged from the rubble, Ren and Jaune riddled it with bullets, though Jaune suspected Ren was doing most of the work, and not just because of his superior RPM.

Ruby landed next to them as the creature disintegrated. "Another victory for team RNJR!"

* * *

"I just wish we could pay you more."

Ren shook his head politely "Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient."

The mayor was still concerned "If you wait a few weeks more we may be able to offer transportation to Shion."

"It's alright!" Nora said "We walked most of the way here! We can handle one more stretch!"

"I'm still surprised you made it this far with no consistent transportation."

"Wasn't easy," Jaune conceded "Air travel was down when we left Patch, and when we arrived in Anima. We spent a good month doing odd jobs and bounty missions to pay for our boat ride over. And that was after about three months of walking and hitchhiking our way across Eastern Sanus."

"But!" Ruby added, hoping this topic wasn't making the mayor worry "Shion's air travel is back up now, so we're in the final stretch!"

* * *

SCHNEE MANOR, ATLAS: 1 MONTH AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

Weiss walked down the hall of the manor, dreading the coming discussion with her father.

"Good afternoon, sister!" She looked up to see her beaming younger brother across the hall.

Weiss hesitated "Hello Whitley. You're in a cheery mood today."

He simply shrugged "Klein made crepes for breakfast. And it's a pleasure to see you out of your room for a change!"

"Father summoned me."

Whitley nodded "I heard him shouting at someone in his study earlier."

"Mother?"

"No, she's already drinking in the garden. I think it was a man. I just wanted to warn you."

Weiss nodded curtly "I'll be fine."

Whitley's smile widened, "I know you will. You are strong, like Winter."

"You never liked Winter."

Whitley's expression saddened slightly "We had our disagreements and our rough patches, but she's still my sister, no matter what father says."

Weiss regarded him suspiciously "You... seem different."

Whitley shrugged "And you've been gone. I'll have you know I didn't stop growing while you were away at Beacon."

* * *

Team RNJR carved their way through the last of a horde of Grimm that had attacked them. As Jaune finished decapitating a Beringel, Ren and Nora cleaned their weapons, and Ruby began checking the map.

"How much further to the village?" Ren asked.

"Shouldn't be much more than half an hour." Jaune reassured, cleaning his blade and joining Ruby to help with her map.

Ren turned to Nora "Should there be this many Grimm this close to the village?"

Nora shrugged "Things are still pretty tense. Every village we've come to has had SOME problems."

She regarded the concern remaining on his face "Hey! It just means we'll have an even easier time earning our travel fare!"

* * *

As Weiss left her father's office and entered a sitting room she was surprised to see Klein awaiting her with a platter of coffee, and _Whitley_ alongside him, already sipping from his own cup.

"I asked Klein to make us some hot coffee."

The tiny butler nodded "I always find he keeps his study dreadfully cold."

Weiss accepted the mug, glancing over at Whitley "Thank you, Klein."

"You know what I think?"

She glanced back to Klein as he dropped the tray from his face, revealing red eyes and a grumpy expression

"I think it's to balance out all his hot air."

Weiss began giggling uncontrollably. "Klein!"

Klein's laughs turned to boughts of sneezing "Uh, apologies, madam."

Weiss laughed harder, and Klein's eyes turned yellow as a happy smile spread across his face. "Ah, there's my happy little snowflake."

Weiss found herself smiling her first real smile in weeks. "Thank you, Klein."

The Butler bowed, then departed as Whitley sat up.

"So what did father wish to discuss with you?"

Weiss frowned slightly, but decided there was no harm in telling him. "He wants me to sing at his charity concert."

"Ahh" Whitley raised his brow in understanding "I suppose you'd enjoy that more if it actually had anything to do with charity."

Weiss nodded

Weiss frowned further "honestly, I think he sometimes forgets we're his children, not his PR team."

Weiss smiled slightly "Will you be accompanying me like you used to."

He shook his head sadly "I'm afraid I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to keep up my practice."

He then perked up slightly "Although I have had some spare time to compose another piece! Maybe you could help me finish it and debut it for me!"

Weiss felt herself get a little excited. Her last concert before going to Beacon had seen her debut a song that he'd written. "Another "Mirror, Mirror" song?"

He nodded cheerfully "The last in a type of trilogy."

* * *

Ruby looked on as Jaune stared at a recording of Pyrrha. "Ready? Form 1!"

Jaune went into a flurry of memorized swings and thrusts.

 _"This is inefficient."_

"Form 2!" Another flurry of blows.

 _"With a thinner blade you could learn my style in mere months through my memories."_

"Form 3!"

 _"Jaune please, let me help you!"_

Jaune shouted angrily as he finished his final form, trying to drown out Ozpin's voice.

"Okay. Now assuming you aren't cheating, we can take a break."

Jaune straightened, breathing heavily.

"I know this can be frustrating and it can feel like so much effort to progress such a small amount, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training. And I know this is just the beginning."

The image began to hesitate. She'd made this the night before the finals began. "Jaune, I-I..."

He gazed longingly at her image.

"I want you to know that I'm just happy to be a part of your life. I'll always be here for you, Jaune."

 _"This isn't healthy. You know the forms! You don't need to torture yourself like this!"_

Ruby began to head back to camp, not sure how to help her friend.

 _"Jaune… please."_


	22. Runaways and Stowaways-Family-Menagerie

**AN: Just addressing the fact that Ozpin technically offed himself (in this version at least), and clarifying that it's not the Maiden powers themselves that Silver Eyes effect, it's how Cinder got them.**

 **Timelines exist for a reason. These four storylines aren't all happening at the same time, but we will be visiting the members at similar stages in their journey's, be they physical or emotional.**

 **I just wanted to tidy up the opening battle a bit. Even without a longrange weapon, and even if his weapon was in the shop, there was no reason for Jaune to go into that fight unarmed. Well there was a reason, lowbrow slapstick comedy, but it was a stupid one. Last I checked that's what RWBY Chibi was for.**

 **I figured Jaune should add some range to his arsenal, but it is just a sidearm/secondary. He's still a swordsman.**

 **And really, there was nothing necessarily wrong with how they beat the giest in canon, but the dumb Goku logic and the pause in the middle of battle were just too obnoxious. So I tidied that up.**

 **There are plenty of ways they could've explained Team RNJR's slow journey. The airships were down for an extended period of time (ironically, I can actually imagine flying being the most dangerous form of travel in Remnant) and they hitch hiked, did odd jobs and took bounties to pay their way at certain points, or just had no choice but to walk. And they're crossing two continents. I can see that taking 6 months.**

 **And Qrow isn't kill stealing like a jackass in this version. He'll explain why in future chapters.**

 **Whitley is a character that has captured my imagination, so even if they never do more with him in canon, I intend to explore the possibilities he brings to the table. In canon we see his picture in the piano room, so I like to imagine that he used to accompany Weiss when she performed. And hopefully you guys didn't detect too many sinister vibes from him here.**

 **You thought Jaune was frustrated in canon? Now add a voice in his head seemingly trying to alter his very identity. Unfortunately, while training and getting stronger is good, his grief management leaves a bit to be desired.**

* * *

PATCH: 1 MONTH AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

Yang Xiao Long. Was. Bored.

She'd run around the frozen yard until she was nauseous, done every leg and core exercise she knew of, gone through every exercise a one-armed girl could do, and even when that was done she'd spent hours rotating and shrugging what was left of her right arm, even while flipping through the channels earlier.

She glanced over at the box her dad had brought in earlier. A wave of anxiety crashed down on her, and she thought she felt the sting in her stump again. She turned from the box, and grabbed a snow shovel to help her dad outside.

* * *

NEAR THE COAST OF MENAGERIE: 2 MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

What are you doing here, Sun?

Sun grinned "Diggin' the new outfit, by the way!"

"Sun! Have you been following me?!"

Sun calmed himself and grew serious. "I saw you run off. The night Beacon Tower fell. Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay. And then you just took off, without saying anything."

Blake looked down, remembering that night. "I had to. You wouldn't understand."

"No, I get it!" Sun reassured "The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing!"

Blake looked up, confused.

"You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!"

Blake frowned and rolled her eyes. "What?"

"You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense!"

She noticed with some appreciation that he didn't mention Adam.

"Sun…"

"But there's no way I'm letting you do this alone! It's an honorable approach, for sure, but you're going to need someone to watch your back. And that's where I come in! Us Faunus got to stick together, after all."

Blake shook her head in a mixture of amusement and annoyance "You're getting ahead of yourself Sun."

"What are you..."

"I'm nowhere near ready to face the White Fang. Not yet."

Sun grew confused "Then what are we doing here?"

"I'm going somewhere to get some training in." She adopted a far-off look "and I need to sort some things out."

Sun nodded "Then why not do it with your team? Your friends?"

Blake felt herself growing defensive. "You're one to talk! Assuming Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!"

Sun laughed, sensing that Blake wasn't quite ready to address that topic. "You really think I could get Neptune on the ocean? They flew back to Mistral! I told them I'd catch up! It's not the first time I left them to take a boat!

He looked out to the horizon "So, if you're not going after the White Fang, where are you going?"

Blake smiled fondly _"of course he hadn't even bothered to see where she was going before stowing away."_

"Home, to Menagerie."

Sun nodded, determinedly "Well, I'm coming with you. The Grimm are getting worse; you saw it yourself! And just because you're not going after the Fang doesn't mean they won't be coming for you! Besides, I'm... kind of already on the boat."

* * *

PATCH: 1.5 MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

"I'm... scared." Yang admitted "Everyone keeps talking about me getting back to normal. And I appreciate it, but... this is normal now."

Port and Oobleck both listened quietly.

"It's just taking me a while to get used to it."

"Well, normal is what you make of it." Taiyang spoke softly "You can't just accept 'normal' when it's holding you back."

Yang felt anger rising "What is that supposed to mean? Do you want me to just pretend like nothing happened? I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone. And it's never coming back."

Taiyang nodded "You're right. It's not coming back. But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you wanna be. You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon."

He put an arm around her and held her close.

"You can do whatever you put your mind to. So whenever you're ready to get back out there, I'll be there for you."

"I... I..."

Port decided to offer his two cents "Fear is like any other emotion. If you wait for it to just go away, you'll be cooped up in this house for the rest of your life. It's all in how you respond to it. How you act on it.

He chuckled and grew more jovial "Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time!"

Yang grinned "Really? You?"

"He's afraid of mice."

"They bring only disease and famine!"

* * *

ANIMA: 7 MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

Team RNJR finished off another horde of Grimm.

"Come on, guys!" Ruby cheered "If we pick up the pace, we can hit the next town before sunset!"

Jaune frowned "Assuming it's still there."

Ruby kept trying to rouse his somber spirits "Of course it'll be there. This one's supposed to be pretty big! Hee-gan...bayn-a."

"Higanbana." Ren annunciated for her "It's a well-protected village with a popular inn."

"Which means, no camping in the rain!" Nora cheered.

Ruby grinned at Jaune "See? Everything's going to be fine!"

Jaune smiled, feeling slightly guilty at his bringing the mood down "You know, we've had a lot of ups and downs. But things could be a lot worse. At least these Grimm hordes are easier to deal with now. I figured they might finish us before we could even reach anima."

 _"Or I'd have to ask HIM for help."_

Ren nodded "As did I."

"I guess we're just that much stronger now!" Nora continued to grin

"Now if I could just figure out these stupid eyes." Ruby groaned.

Jaune gave her a friendly side-hug. "Hey, wouldn't want to make things too easy would we?"

"To Higanbana!" Nora cheered.

Jaune and Ren joined it "To Higanbana!"

"To Higanban... ban-a!" Ruby continued to struggle as Qrow looked down on the group from his vantage point. He had Harbinger out, just in case, but smiled. He hadn't used it once this past month.

* * *

"I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival."

Qrow glared at his twin "I saw. The people of Shion saw, too."

"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules."

Qrow continued to glare at her, disgust clear on his face.

Raven turned away, trying to conceal her guilt "It was supposed to be a quick supply run. No one was supposed to get hurt."

"So instead of feeding them to the Grimm you figured you'd just steal their food and let them starve."

"They had plenty of supplies." Raven insisted "But mistakes were made, we were spotted, we fought our way out, and the Grimm attacked."

"Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage of your little 'escape attempt'."

Raven grew nervous at that accusation.

"And I'm not talking about you, either."

Raven reached for her mask "If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about."

Qrow grabbed the mask to stop her "I don't know where the Spring Maiden is either, but if you do, I need you to tell me."

Raven yanked her mask away "And why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't tell me, Salem will come looking for you, and she'll take her. Without Spring, we're all going to die."

Raven smirked and opened a portal "And which "we" are you referring to?"

As she vanished, Qrow heard a glass shatter behind him. He turned to see the frightened waitress staring at the spot where Raven disappeared from, and backing away from Qrow.

"Make this one a double."

* * *

"I've never seen so many Faunus in one place!"

Blake smiled fondly at her hometown. "Many of them come here believing that they'll feel safe."

The two began moving through the island, and Sun quickly found himself struggling to move through the crows. "Wow, sure is, uh, crowded, huh?"

Blake nodded, "Yes. Yes, it is."

Sun yelped when someone accidentally stepped on his tail, apologizing profusely "Is it always so... cramped?"

Blake shrugged "Well, when you try and take an entire species and put them on an island that's two-thirds desert, yeah, it tends to be cramped."

Sun looked at her with a look of horror "What! You guys have that much more space? Why waste it? A little desert never hurt anyone!"

"We've been slowly expanding over the years, but it's not like the desert in Vacuo, Sun." Blake explained patiently "That desert is one of the most densely populated Grimm areas in the world."

Sun shook his head "I know a lot of us were forced to move here before the Faunus War, but that was over 15 years ago! Why don't people just leave?"

Blake smiled fondly, taking pride in more than just the suffering of her species. "We made the best of things."

She came to the top of a hill and was joined by sun. Before them was a beautiful landscape of bright green palm trees and houses, expanding all the way to a mountain border.

"This is Kuo Kuana"

"It's beautiful!"

"When we were forced to come here, we had a choice. Treat it as a prison, or an opportunity. So we banded together and built a home here. A place where we hoped anyone could feel safe. Now it stands as proof that the world can change." She chuckled a bit "and we were worried that if we settled anywhere nicer someone might try to force us out and take it from us."

* * *

"It's just been hard dealing with them lately." Kali said in exasperation as she sipped her tea.

"Dealing with who?"

"The White Fang."

"What?!" Blake's first instinct was to run to her father's aid, but Sun quickly slapped a hand over her mouth and wrapped an arm around her midsection, stopping her from rushing from the room.

"You said you weren't ready to fight them yet, remember?" Sun hissed to calm her down, then turned to Kali who stood in concern. "They can't know she's here."

Kali glanced at Blake, who nodded at her mother. Kali left the room, and Sun and Blake peeked through a crack in the door.

Outside, Ghira stood talking to Corsac and Fennec Albain.

"Those psycho brothers are here too?" Sun muttered.

"Is everything alright?" Kali asked as she approached her husband.

Fennec gave Kali a respectful bow "We were just here to give your husband news of the events that transpired a while ago at Beacon.

Ghira began towards Blake and Sun, but Kali gripped his shoulder to keep him facing the two brothers.

Corsac continued "Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under orders of High Leader Khan. Rather, they've elected to follow the rule of one Adam Taurus. I believe you're all familiar with the young adept and his... extreme philosophies."

Ghira frowned "I seem to recall Sienna encouraging a few of them

Fennec chose to ignore that comment "Your Grace, we came to assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers do not represent the will of the White Fang."

"And how can I be sure of that?"

Corsac nodded reassuringly "We understand if you bear any skepticism towards these claims. The White Fang's tactics are admittedly, more aggressive since you stepped down as High Leader and became Chieftain of Menagerie. But this, this is no way to make our message heard."

Fennec produced a folder for Ghira "We have ample documentation from the council meeting, as well as several strategies to apprehend and punish these strays if you care to review them."

Ghira nodded "I will, but another day." He thought for a moment by any chance, do either of you have news of my daughter

Corsac grinned slightly "We were recently saddened to learn of her departure from the White Fang. But we can understand if she could no longer support our cause."

"It is a wearying fight, after all." Fennec added with his own smile.

Blake grit her teeth, unsure if the insult was meant for her or her father.

"If you do receive word of her" Corsac added "we'd appreciate any news."

Fennec nodded "If only to give Sister Ilia some peace of mind."

Ghira nodded respectfully but firmly "Goodbye, gentlemen."

Blake and Sun emerged as Ghira turned to the two of them. "I'm assuming you know more than what those two were willing to share?"

Blake nodded "I'll tell you everything, but there's something else I need to talk to you about." She set her jaw, determined "I need to train."

* * *

As the two fox brothers departed the Belladonna household, Corsac turned to his smaller brother.

"You smelled her too?"

"Of course."

"So, shall we inform Brother Adam?"

"Oh we shall."

* * *

 **AN: Three canon chapters in one! And pretty simple tweaks at that! It's almost like Volume 4 was actually pretty decent!**

 **By the way, if anyone knows anything about recommended exercises for amputees without a prosthetic feel free to comment and enlighten me. I'm not even sure if a person who's lost an arm is supposed to do upper body workouts or risk becoming lopsided or something like that.**


	23. Tipping Point

**AN: Like I said, just a simple tweak to patch up Yang's arc. She's an energetic thrill seeker. Even if she did develop a mild agoraphobia, she's not gonna sit around doing nothing. And honestly the canon series could've gotten the whole "she's staying in shape" point across just by putting a giant dumbbell next to the couch in the scene where Yang's watching TV.**

 **The biggest changes to this Volume, (other than Jaune) will be to Blake's side of things. She's not treating Sun like an idiot for assuming that she's going after the organization that made her life miserable. But she's also not just going to Menagerie to patch things up with her parents. She actually has plans to do things.**

 **Some people think Yang needed more time to recover. Like… years, judging by some of their comments. First of all, I would like to see their psych degrees. Second of all, like Port says, if Yang waits until she's no longer scared of anything, she'd never have left. Fear is a natural response that tells you when it's time for either fight or flight. And oddly enough, I think Yang _might_ be a fighter. I don't know what could've possibly given me that idea, I just have this feeling.**

 **Sarcasm aside, some of the dialogue in that scene was a little iffy, so I cleaned it up a little.**

 **And again, Qrow isn't stealing kills from Team RNJR. And Ruby's trying to figure out her Silver Eyes. Because she's not just gonna forget them until the next time she sees Cinder.**

 **So I'm pretty sure we're supposed to sympathize with Raven at least a little bit. But that's difficult when she slaughters villages full of people for unknown reasons. And honestly, the whole "snatch and grab gone wrong" thing is still my head canon.**

 **I really hope Blake didn't feel too out of character in this chapter. You know, when she took a moment to stop moping about how much being a faunus sucks and actually had a bit of pride in what her people have accomplished and built. Just figured there was a bit of room for that since I've already done a better job of making it clear how tough it is to be a Faunus in Remnant than M, K, & M.**

 **And if Blake's currently trying to avoid the White Fang, why would she run out to confront them? Well in this case it was out of concern for her father, but Sun, being the good supporting character that he is, kept her in check. And he's not going to get slapped for it. Novel concept, I know.**

 **Lot of sarcasm in this AN. XD**

* * *

MENAGERIE: 5 MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

Blake, Sun, and Kali all worked together to bring down an Acromantula Grimm. Kali expertly wielded a pair of butterfly swords which were attached to her wrist by a long chain that she could extend for long range blows.

As the creature went down, Kali looked at the two exhausted teens. They'd grown a lot in the last three months.

"Why don't the two of you take a break. I'll secure the perimeter."

The two nodded gratefully, and Sun pulled two canteens from the pack he wore, handing one to Blake.

"I can definitely tell who you learned to fight from."

Blake smiled "She was my first teacher."

Sun nodded "And that Adam guy was the second?"

Blake frowned slightly "That's right."

"What's his deal?" Sun noticed the frown too late "I'm sorry, you don't have to talk about him if you don't want..."

"It's fine." Blake reassured her friend. "When I first met Adam, The Schnee Dust Company and humans in general had pretty much already ruined his life."

Sun nodded "I saw the brand."

"He was quiet, but he was kind to me. He seemed noble, always trying to protect people around him. I thought he was strong for fighting back against the people who hurt him. I thought he was a hero. And maybe he was at first."

She winced a little "But as time went on, his actions seemed less noble. Less about protecting others and more about revenge."

"I tried to help him, and he kept promising me that he'd try to be better. But the people around us kept praising him for the things he did. Sienna Kahn seemed to be rewarding him with more responsibility and prestige as his actions grew more violent."

"Then one day, I put a man in the hospital, and I felt nothing. And I realized that it wasn't just him changing, it was both of us. I wanted to help him be better, but he was dragging me down."

Sun put a consoling hand on her back as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Now I wonder if there was ever any good in him. Or if there still is. I think that, maybe if I'd stayed, maybe I could've saved him. Maybe my leaving is what sent him over the edge. Maybe if I'd never left, Yang would still have her arm."

Sun wrapped his arms around her, and a third body joined them.

"Shhhhh." Kali consoled her daughter, petting her hair. Blake sobbed, while Sun and Kali held a quick silent conversation. Sun let Kali take over and went off a ways to act as lookout, while remaining in earshot.

Kali continued to console Blake "I'm proud of you. You saw someone drowning, becoming something dark, and you tried to save him from himself."

Blake began to calm as she listened "But you can't change someone who doesn't want to change. You are not responsible for Adams choices. Sometimes you have to know when you've done all you can, and when someone's bad influence is effecting you."

She cupped Blake's face and looked at her. "It's not you're fault. None of it."

"For what it's worth..." Sun added, looking at the two "I'm glad you left. 'Cause if you hadn't, I'd have never gotten to meet you."

* * *

ATLAS: 2 MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

Jacques stopped Weiss as she made to leave his side. "Where are you going?"

"I'm... just a little thirsty."

He scoffed and started to wave over a server "Sweetheart, we have people for that."

"What? No, I can get it. I'll be right back, I promise."

Whitley stepped forward "I can go with her."

Jacques shrugged and turned back to his conversation as the two siblings walked off.

'I'm sorry, I tuned out for a second, but sounds like I'm the good guy again?'

"I'd had just about enough of that conversation myself." Whitley muttered.

Weiss smiled appreciatively as they walked towards one of the paintings.

"And I suppose _someone_ should look at the art pieces at an art auction."

Weiss looked around. They did appear to be the only ones actually looking at the paintings.

Weiss sighed, then turned to him. "Thanks for writing that song for me. I think it's your best one yet."

Whitley smiled back. "Thanks for helping with the lyrics. And making it heard. You can put a song on paper, but nobody can appreciate it until it's been performed. That's when the message can truly get through."

He glanced back. "I'd better get us some drinks, or father will start insisting that we return."

* * *

He returned a few moments later to see that Weiss had company.

"Yeah, kinda pricey for a painting."

Weiss glared at the blue-haired flirt next to her "It's to raise money."

Henry seemed genuinely surprised "Oh really? For what?"

"For what?"

Henry shrugged as he grabbed a drink from a passing waiter "Heheh, I'll admit, I only come to these things for the food and drinks."

He turned on a charming smile "And the extraordinary company. Of course. So what, is it another Mantle fundraiser or something?"

"Get. Out."

"What?"

Before Weiss could order him further, she was joined by Whitley.

"Last I checked Mr. Marigold, you are between lovers. Which means there is no way you could possibly afford any of these art pieces. And you clearly have no interest in offering your moral support to the people suffering in the kingdom of Vale, thus, you have no business being here, other than mooching a meal and scouting a new John to leech off of."

Henry bristled at that last joke "Hey punk-"

"Therefore, we must ask that you take your business elsewhere. A street corner perhaps."

"Listen you little twerp." He made as if to grab Whitley, but Weiss quickly seized his wrist.

"Get out, or I will have security escort you out."

Henry pulled away and stalked out grumbling. Whitley rejoined Weiss at the painting, nodding his appreciation.

"Mr. Marigold has a decent amount of connections among the rest of Atlas' elite, but unless he's got a girl on his arm he hasn't got any spending money." Whitley explained "He only comes to events like this one when he's sucked his latest victim dry and is looking for a new host."

Weiss shook her head in disgust "That's awful."

Whitley shrugged "It'll catch up to him eventually. It caught up to his brother."

He turned as a patron began shouting at a server behind them. Weiss glared and tried to focus on the painting in front of her.

Whitley sighed "Unfortunately, if we're throwing people out for not knowing what cause they're donating to we'll have to throw out half our guests."

"It was a long time coming if you ask me!"

Weiss gritted her teeth at that.

"And the other half just doesn't care."

* * *

ANIMA: 8 MONTHS AFTER THE FALL OF BEACON

Team RNJR had taken some time to scavenge for supplies in Oniyuri before moving on, though they tried to be quick about it.

"Guys!" Ren stopped and focused his aura. Something, or someone was approaching. Fast.

Ren turned as a cackling man leaped into the area, and rushed towards Ruby. Ren moved in to intercept him. The two briefly engaged in battle, but the man quickly unbalanced Ren and swept his feet, sending him to the ground

 _"Oh no!"_

Jaune ignored Ozpin and he and Ruby moved in to help Ren. The man ducked Jaune's stroke then leaped over Ruby, who had gotten behind him and prepared to swing. He landed behind Ruby, who moved away as Ren rolled to his feet and fired on the man. The man evaded, and lunged towards Ruby again, but was intercepted by Jaune. The man's hands and legs shot shot out and he latched onto Jaune's shield, before leaning in as if to get a better look at him. Jaune thrust Crocea Mors forward, but the man sprung away as Nora came from behind. He spring boarded off of Magnhild and into the center of the courtyard as Team RNJR grouped up, ready for another bout.

Jaune stood forward "We're not looking for a fight!

"Who are you?" Ren asked.

The man grinned and sauntered forward "Who I am matters not to you.

He pointed at Ren.

"Or you."

He pointed to Nora.

"Or—" He paused as he turned to Jaune "Well... you do interest me."

Jaune took a step back. _"Can he sense you somehow?"_

 _"No, he doesn't know that I'm here._

"No, I only matter to you." He pointed to Ruby who tilted her head in confusion.

"Me?"

He began laughing hysterically

 _"He's here to kill her! Give me control! We have to get her out of here!"_

 _"He'll follow us!"_

 _"Mr. Ren and Ms. Valkyrie can hold him long enough for us to escape."_

 _"He'll kill them!"_

 _"…Perhaps."_

"You, you haven't the slightest clue, do you?" The man's glee grew "Oh, how exciting this must be."

Ruby stared down the man "What do you want?"

The man gasped dramatically "Oh, the rose has thorns! My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!"

 _"What?"_ Jaune was surprised by the apparent confusion in Ozpin's tone.

Nora marched forward "Well, what if she doesn't want to go with you?"

 _"They knew this path would be dangerous. You and Ms. Rose are more important."_

Jaune glared furiously.

His gaze turned condescending, not at all impressed "Well, I'll take her."

 _"You mean YOU and Ruby are more important."_

Jaune planted himself firmly between his friends and the strange man.

"We're not going to let you do that."

The man closed his eyes and breathed in. he then opened them, a vicious grin on his face.

"Good." He seemed to disappear.

 _"Behind you!"_

Jaune turned just in time to see the man preparing a blow to Jaune's back. Jaune raised his shield, and Ren shot it, ricocheting it into the man's face, which he quickly defended with his arms. His foot shot out and caught Ruby in the face, knocking her back. Jaune swung for his head, which he ducked, before sweeping Jaune's legs and knocking him down. Nora rushed him, and he defended easily.

 _"You can't beat him! At least let me help you!"_

A shot was fired from Ruby's rifle. It missed the man and struck Nora instead.

The man began laughing "Well, if that isn't ironic!"

He turned to see Jaune, Ruby and Ren all smiling as Nora rose up behind him, the lighting dust flowing through her system.

The man turned just in time to see the hammer crashing down on him.

 _"It's not enough."_

As the dust cleared, the man continued to giggle. What they'd thought was his belt had unraveled to reveal a scorpions stinger, which held back Magnhild with ease.

"Surprise!"

He his feet struck Nora, forcing her back as he ascended to the roof of a building.

"He's... a Faunus."

 _"His names Tyrian. He's one of the most dangerous assassins in the world."_

"What is this about? The White Fang? Roman Torchwick?"

Tyrian smirked "Plastic soldiers and pawns. My heart and body belong only to our goddess."

Ruby glared "Cinder..."

Tyrian's expression turned to one of disgust "Hmph, only in her wildest dreams."

He leaped down at the four and continued his assault. Jaune struggled to focus on the fight over the voice in his head.

 _"Jaune! Let me help!"_

 _"I'm not leaving them!"_

 _"If we stay here he'll kill them anyway! And you and Ruby will be subjected to a fate worse than death!"_

Jaune looked up as Ruby cried out in pain. Ren and Nora were both down, and Ruby fell, her aura completely drained. Tyrian's eyes turned purple and he raised his stinger.

"Not to worry. This venom won't kill you."

Jaune's eyes began to flash yellow as he ran forward.

 _"Save her!"_

A figure rushed forward as Tyrian's stinger lunged towards Ruby. Qrow Branwen blocked the stinger as he looked down at his niece, who sighed in relief.

"Nice of you to join us Qrow." Ruby turned as Jaune walked forward, sheathing Crocea Mors and placing it at his belt. His voice was softer and older. As if Jaune had suddenly aged several decades in an instant.

It seemed familiar.

Qrow looked surprised at first, then smiled and reached into his belt. He pulled an object out, and tossed it to Jaune. Ozpin's cane.

"It's nice to have you back, Oz."

Tyrian's cackling filled the courtyard.


	24. Punishment-A Much Needed Talk

**AN: Before reading this chapter, go back and read the last one, because I added a section to it.**

 **So rather than being the most shallow person on the face of the planet and defining a person with a single word, I decided to actually discuss Blake's relationship with Adam. Like Blake said in Volume 1, there's no such thing as pure evil. Adam doesn't embody spite, but while outside influences encouraged him in certain directions, nobody made him do anything. And this is not the last time we'll be exploring Adam's character as it should've been in canon.**

 **Whitley continues to be nothing but supportive. ;)**

 **And while I have no intention of ignoring the experience Team RNJR has gained on their journey (I'll highlight it further when they reunite with WBY) they are still outmatched by Tyrian who has a lot more experience than them. Also Jaune's struggling with Ozpin, who is insisting on the pragmatic approach despite Jaune's protests.**

 **Also, I feel like I should clarify this now, and I'm probably gonna edit chapter 21 to make this clarification as well, but just to be very clear: Like the Blake and Yang section of the Dance Arc, Ren and Nora's** **story line** **in Volume 4 was done well enough that I haven't felt any real need to change anything in it. Those scenes aren't absent from the page because I'm ignoring it or excluding it like Team CFVY and Oscar, I just haven't felt the need to fix something that isn't broken. And I think you guys understand that since no one's commented on it, but I just felt like I should clarify.**

* * *

Clearly, the trauma you endured at the fall of Beacon was too much for you. Which is why you've generously revoked your claim to the company and its earnings and passed it on to your brother Whitley.

Weiss gaped at her father in horror as her entire world fell apart around her.

"It's time to wake up and face reality."

As he left, Weiss saw Whitley standing outside the door. As it closed on her brothers impassive face, a sickening thought occurred to Weiss, and she ran to the door, feeling an intense anger building inside her.

"Whitley?!"

The boy in question turned around with an innocent smile on his face "Yes, sister?

"Did you know about this?"

"About what?"

The pieces started falling together "You never liked Winter. You never liked me, even when we performed together. But you've been nothing but supportive since the moment I came back."

Whitley's face turned impassive and he simply shrugged, "If being kind to my big sister in spite of her preconceived notions is some sort of crime, then I suppose I'm guilty."

Weiss's eyes widened "You wanted this to happen. You manipulated me!"

Whitley's nostrils flared as his lips turned up in a smirk while his eyes showed an intense fury.

"All I did was write a song and say what you were already thinking. You're the one who disobeyed father and got riled up."

Weiss felt herself growing sick at his expression "I can't believe you."

Whitley's face calmed and he spoke in a perfectly business-like manner "Everything I do, I do for the Schnee family Weiss. But in order for my plans to succeed, I'm afraid there can be only one heir."

He calmly strolled away, leaving Weiss heartbroken.

* * *

Tyrian continued to giggle at the two new developments in front of him. "As I live and breathe, Qrow Branwen. A true Huntsman has entered the fray!"

Qrow looked back and gave Ruby an odd look. She just shrugged.

"I don't know, this guy's weird."

"And Ozpin!" Tyrian turned his attention to Jaune(?) "Returned from the grave so soon? And in that vessel! Looks like I'll have to fight Hazel for you!"

Jaune stood tall, almost regal, and raised Ozpin's cane. "You're outnumbered and outmatched here Tyrian." His voice was calm and collected, like a parent advising a youth. "It's time for you to leave."

Tyrian shook his head "I'm afraid that is not possible. My assignment from Her Grace was to retrieve this young girl. So, that is what I must do. One does not upset the Queen."

"Queen?" Ruby was growing more and more confused.

Tyrian assumed a battle position "Hmm, I think we've had enough talk now, don't you?"

"Took the words right out of-"

Qrow was cut off as Tyrian lunged at Jaune, who anticipated him this time, easily deflecting the attacks as Qrow moved in to help. Ruby looked on, as Jaune, who'd been playing catch up to his peers for a year and half, fought like a veteran Huntsman with decades of experience. There were no wasted movements, no disorientation caused by Tyrian's odd fighting style, every attack and defense was anticipated and responded to perfectly, as if he'd fought hundreds of men like this. He knew when to dodge rather than deflect, he saw every opening and took it, he knew exactly when to press an attack and when to disengage. And all this while fighting alongside a professional huntsman he'd never worked with before.

Ruby was snapped out of her awe by Ren and Nora joining her.

"What's going on?" Nora asked "When did Jaune start fighting with a cane?"

"It's like he's a completely different person." Ren observed.

Ruby shook off the surprise. Jaune may have been more skilled, but his body was still inexperienced and he was still struggling to keep up. Without Qrow he wouldn't have lasted.

"You two try and give them a hand. I'm gonna find a perch." She ran to one of the many buildings. Without aura she needed to keep her distance.

Ren and Nora made their approach, attempting a flanking maneuver, but Tyrian anticipated and drove them back. Jaune held his hand out to them.

 _"Stay back"_ for a moment it sounded as if two voices were speaking. "I appreciate the assistance, but this fight is beyond either of you."

The two obeyed, recognizing the authority in his tone.

Tyrian's boot shot out and knocked Jaune aside as his tail latched onto Harbinger, and threw it aside. Suddnely, a rifle fired from across the courtyard, grazing Tyrian's face. He looked up at Ruby's sniper perch, as she continued to fire at him. He simply smiled and deflected the shots lazily with his tail.

Suddenly, Qrow's fist struck him in the face. Tyrian was more surprised than hurt as he was struck twice more, then kicked in the stomach, driving him back. Harbinger flew through the air to Qrow's arm, thrown by "Jaune".

Tyrian glared and changed tactics, rushing for Ruby's sniper perch on the roof of a building. Jaune and Qrow pursued as he leaped towards her.

 _"Ruby! Get out of there!"_ Jaune yelled.

Ruby backed away as Tyrian descended towards her. Qrow's eyes flashed as he landed in front of her, and the planks he landed on gave way, dropping him into the ruined building below. Qrow suddenly shoved Ruby away as a tail shot out of the building below, wrapping around Qrow's leg, and dragging him into the building as well. Ruby hopped down to the ground and prepared to enter the building, when Jaune's hand took her arm.

"We need to go."

"What are you talking about? We can't just leave him!"

"He'll have an easier time if he's not worried about protecting us."

The side of the building suddenly exploded, and Harbinger shot out, followed by Qrow, his aura vanishing. Tyrian emerged a moment later, his aura also gone.

As the two charged, Ruby pulled free and intercepted Tyrian's strike.

 _"Ruby!"_ Jaune shouted

Tyrian grinned "Do you wish to be taken?"

"No! But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!"

Qrow and Ruby clashed against Tyrian and his stinger shot for Ruby, but was intercepted by Jaune.

Qrow turned to his niece "Ruby, you need to get back!"

Ruby shook her head furiously "This is my fight, too!"

Ruby attempted an attack from behind, but both of Tyrian's feet shot out and knocked her back. He drove Qrow away, and wrapped his tail around Jaune's neck before throwing him across the courtyard, shattering his aura. He once again lunged for Ruby, but was struck once again by Qrow. As he fell away, his eyes turned pitch black and his stinger once again shot out, slashing across Qrow's chest. Qrow gasped, and Tyrian grinned triumphantly, his eyes turning back to yellow as he faced him.

Suddenly, Crescent rose wrapped itself around Tyrian's extended tail, and Ruby fired, the recoil tearing through the appendage.

Tyrian's eyes flashed back to yellow as he cried out in pain, "You bitch!"

He attempted to attack, but was clearly off balance. Qrow, Jaune, Ren and Nora all stepped forward, ready to finish him.

Tyrian slunk away in defeat, trying to reassure himself. "She'll forgive you."

Once he was gone, Qrow gasped and clutched his chest in pain.

Ruby caught him "Uncle Qrow, are you okay?"

Qrow nodded "I'm fine, he just grazed me."

Jaune stepped forward "What color were his eyes?!"

Qrow thought for a moment "Yellow."

"You're sure."

"Yeah."

Nora and Ren came forward.

"Who was that guy? Why was he after Ruby?"

"Why did he call Jaune Ozpin?"

Ruby looked to Qrow and Jaune, growing more and more concerned. "Uncle Qrow. Jaune. What is going on?"

Jaune sighed, then smiled gently "What is your favorite fairly tale?"

* * *

Ozpin looked through Jaune's eyes at the other three members of team RNJR from across the campfire.

"I'm afraid this all must be very perplexing."

Nora nodded "And alarming, and bizarre, and just really kind of hard to believe overall!"

Ozpin smiled "It's good to see you children still have your sense of humor. I know you've all been through tremendous hardship already. I'm sorry."

Ruby shook her head "I mean, it's not your fault."

"It's all my fault. I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, and I wasn't exaggerating. I'm... cursed. For thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded soul. The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form and clearly wasn't my last. It's... an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved."

Ren leaned in, trying to understand "So who... what... are you?"

"I am the combination of countless men who've spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant. With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me."

Ruby felt herself begin to panic "Wait, so is Jaune…"

"Mr. Arc is still here." Ozpin reassured her. "He has merely handed over the controls, so to speak."

Ozpin continued "I was given this curse so that I could stop Salem."

"She's the one who sent that Tyrian guy." Qrow added.

"Who is she?" Ren asked.

Ozpin seemed to grow sad. "She's a supremely powerful being. A sorceress whose current goal is to obtain the relics."

Nora frowned "The what?"

Qrow chuckled "You all know about the four ideals, right?"

Ruby nodded "Yeah, creation, destruction, knowledge, and choice. The huntsmen exist to defend and regulate them. You drilled them into my head."

Ozpin nodded "They're not just ideals or concepts or metaphors. They're physical objects."

He got more comfortable, and began the tale of the two brothers.

* * *

MENAGERIE: 6 MONTHS AFTER THE BATTLE OF BEACON

'…why did you leave Vale? Why did you leave your friends behind?'

Blake sniffled as she prepared to answer "I..."

They both started when the door suddenly crashed down and Sun rolled in, wrestling with a figure all in black. Even her skin was unnaturally black.

"Ilia?!" Blake leaped to Suns aid as the Faunus girl kicked him off and fled.

Ghira hoisted Sun to his feet as Kali rushed into the room. "What's happened?!"

"I dunno, I was just coming by when that ninja girl just jumped me!" He began to go after the two retreating girls "I'm bringing you're daughter back!"

* * *

"So the academies hold the relics…" Ruby said to make sure she understood.

"And the Maidens are the only ones who can unlock the vaults." Qrow finished.

Ozpin nodded "Fall for Beacon and the Relic of Choice, Spring for Haven and the Relic of Knowledge, Winter for Atlas and the Relic of Creation, and Summer for Shade and the Relic of Destruction."

"Does that mean she already has the Relic of Choice?" Ren asked.

Ozpin smiled reassuringly "Fortunately, I took liberties of hiding the Relic of Choice more creatively after the attack on the previous Fall Maiden."

The three students began to eye the cane in his belt

"… No, it is not my cane."

They promptly nodded, then Nora turned to Qrow. "And where have you been this whole time? With you're help we could've gotten to Haven faster so we could warn them."

Qrow raised a calming hand. "Because getting you guys to Haven fast would've left you completely useless for the fight we've got ahead of us."

"We weren't exactly useful today." Ren muttered, thinking of Tyrian.

"8 months ago, Tyrian would've killed you all in seconds rather than minutes." Qrow reassured her and turned to Ruby "Remember when I said a day out here is like a week in school? I wasn't exaggerating by much."

"Then why even bother with the academies?" Ruby asked "Why not just build a massive military fortress around the relics and train us out here?"

Qrow chuckled a little "For the same reason you're dad paid for swim lessons where you spent the first four days just learning how to dunk your head underwater, instead of throwing you in a lake and fishing you out if you started to drown. You'd have learned fast in the lake, but swim lessons were safer. And you still learned some important things."

He grew slightly bitter "Out here you learn things like 'every man for himself', 'just be faster than the guy next to you' and 'the weak live, the strong survive'. Ozpin's goal with the academies is to promote unity, teamwork, and being semi-decent human beings. All the stuff Salem hates."

Ozpin smiled sadly "That was the goal, though I wasn't always successful."

Ruby turned to him and hesitated "Can… we talk to Jaune?"

"Of course." His eyes glowed white for a moment, and his entire posture seemed to change. Jaune bowed his head, trying to avoid Ruby's gaze.

"Jaune…" Ruby tried to figure out what to say.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nora simply blurted her question out.

"…We didn't need him until today."

"Are you crazy?!" Qrow looked like he wanted to start shaking the boy "You have thousands of years' worth of knowledge rolling around in that head of yours and you've done nothing with it!"

Jaune glared at the older man "Oh trust me, I've asked him for knowledge! He's told me a handful of battle strategies, what Lionheart's office looks like, and that I should toss my families sword and start fighting with a stick! But when I ask the tough questions, like what Salem plans to do with the relics, who or what she is, and what she plans to do with Ruby, he clams up!"

 _"I don't know what she wants with Ruby. Her Silver Eyes would be cause for concern to her, but she's never tried to capture someone like her before._

He continued to glare at Qrow "Here's the question that's eating at me right now. Ozpin said his 'predecessor' built the academies. That predecessor was his past life. The Last King of Vale; The guy who ended the ten year Color War in a single day with a swing of his sword and a wave of his staff."

Ruby's eyes widened as she began to see where he was going with this "The relics of destruction and creation."

Jaune nodded "He's not denying it. That means he built the academies, placed the relics in the vaults, and had the maidens close the vaults. Which means that he had access to the power of the Gods, and the allegiance of four extremely powerful sorceresses for 80 years."

Qrow tried to interrupt. "Look kid-"

"So why…" Jaune continued "in those 80 years, never mind the thousands before them, didn't he defeat Salem like he's supposed to?!"

Qrow met his gaze. "I've asked myself these same questions, kid. It's just not that simple."

Jaune sneered viciously "That's the only answer he gave you too, huh?"

"Jaune." He turned to look at Ruby, and immediately felt terrible as he met her stern gaze. "I get that you're frustrated. I can't imagine what this has been like for you, and I get that you want answers. But Uncle Qrow is here to help-"

Jaune quickly nodded apologetically "Y-you're right. I-I'm sorry-"

"And so is Ozpin."

His mood immediately dropped again.

"She's right" Ren chimed in trying to comfort his friend with more than his semblance "Ozpin helped save our lives today!"

"Ren…" Jaune paused.

 _"Not out here."_

Jaune forced a smile onto his face. "You're right." He turned to Qrow, genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry. I appreciate what you did for us today. You saved our lives."

Qrow smiled and nodded back. "I think we're all just a little tired. We should get some sleep."

Jaune nodded "That's a good idea."

They all began sleeping preparations while Qrow offered to take first watch.

 _"If I'd known Qrow was there I would've never told you to leave them."_

 _"That's a lie. You tried to leave even after he showed up."_

 _"We were in his way-"_

 _"Just. Stop. I've already lied to them for you. Just leave me alone."_

He laid down, trying to fight off the enormous guilt gathering in his gut. Ren began a meditation, trying to spread calming feelings to all of them before sleep.

Before the energy could reach him, Jaune hissed three words meant only for his and Ozpin's ears.

 _"I hate you."_


	25. TSF,TSB-Kuroyuri-Taking Control

**AN: Hopefully, Whitley's betrayal in this last chapter was more surprising than distressing for you guys. I know a lot of you liked the idea of him as an actually supportive little brother, and I promise I still plan on deepening his character no matter what happens in canon. But for now I simply wanted to hint at some of his hidden depths, and actually show him being "nothing but supportive", rather than make us take Weiss' word for it. For better or worse for our heroes, Whitley has his own plans and objectives. Unfortunately they require the entire Schnee inheritance, and that he play by his father's rules.**

 **It seemed weird to me that Tyrian was trying to poison Ruby in canon, since Salem wanted her alive. I guess the plan could've just been poison her so she's incapacitated then give her the antidote when he gets her away, but still, I like the idea that he can swap venoms based on eye color.**

 **Rather than having Sun stumble in like an idiot, then get slapped around by Blake (why do people like her again?) who then spots Ilia watching her by the most contrived of contrivances, I changed things up a bit. You'll see the full extent of these changes in this chapter.**

 **Exposition chapters suck, but sometimes you just have to put things into words. I get that. And at least the canon version of this chapter tried to make the story of the brothers interesting with the visual aids. The biggest problem with the canon version of this last chapter is that the only useful information we got from it was regarding the relics which came with a lot of questions. In this case, we know how Ozpin's reincarnations work, an elaboration on why people go to school to be huntsmen, and since the characters are asking these questions like, "who is Salem?", "what does she want with Ruby?", "what are her plans for the relics?", and "why has it taken Ozpin so long to beat her when he seems to have had every advantage?", it lets the audience know that these are not plot holes, they are questions that will be answered in the future. And while he does lash out at Qrow, Jaune's really just angry at Ozpin. For some pretty good reasons I'd say.**

 **Oh and if you're trying to imagine what Kali's weapons look like, just imagine the Blades of Chaos from God of War. (Get it? Because Kali was the hindu goddess of war? Okay so the RWBY character probably isn't meant to be based on her, but I think it's a fun connection, and it's similar to Blake's weapon, don't me.)**

* * *

ATLAS: 7 1/2 MONTHS AFTER THE BATTLE OF BEACON

Weiss wiped her brow as she left the manor's gymnasium.

"You're not fooling anyone you know."

Weiss ignored Whitley and kept walking towards her room.

"Spending hours upon hours in the gym, running through the gardens and grounds like an obstacle course, eavesdropping on father whenever he has the General over."

"Maybe I'm just trying to stay in shape and up to date on current events. I have to do something with my time now that I'm stuck here."

Whitley rolled his eyes "It's obvious you're planning on escaping and going back to being a huntress. It won't work. Even if you could get away, no academy will take you for fear of further conflict. Where would you go?"

"Are you jealous? Is that it?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Is that why you hate me? Are you jealous of my abilities? Of Winter's?"

"…I don't hate you Weiss. Either of you." Whitley's glare softened "And no, I am not jealous. I am well aware that Grandfather wished to be remembered not just as a business man, but as a warrior. But a warrior fights in the hopes that someone else won't have to. Thus, the Schnee Dust Company is more than a miner and seller of dust, it is a weapons manufacturer."

He seemed to be genuinely enjoying the discussion "I've paid particularly close attention to our weapons department these past few years, sitting in on board meetings. I even had a hand in designing our most recent models."

Weiss glared "You're designs went rogue and killed innocent people."

Whitley was pulled from his conversational revelry and frowned "An incident which will not be repeated."

"Either way, don't look down on me because I uphold our families legacy differently." He turned and walked down the hall, then paused and called over his shoulder "And if you're going to attempt some manner of escape you'd better do it soon. Ironwood intends to close Atlas' borders by the end of the week. Nobody in or out."

Weiss rolled her eyes as she walked back into her room. She was well aware of her deadline. But for now…

Weiss held her blade to the middle of the floor and a large glyph appeared.

While intensive exercise was all well and good, Weiss needed real practice, with a real sparring partner. So she'd spent the first week of her captivity making one.

She took an offensive stance as the summoned Arma Giga did the same.

"En garde!"

* * *

"Ilia?"

Blake had followed the faunus girl into an alley.

"Blake." She turned. Ilia removed her mask. "I'm sorry."

"What are you doing Ilia? Why'd you attack Sun?"

Ilia's voice turned hostile "You shouldn't have come back."

Blake felt a pair of boots land on her back, driving her to the ground. When she tried to rise she felt a sticky thread wrap around her. She turned back to see a young spider faunus gripping a strand of webbing.

The bat Faunus, Yuma nodded "Well done, Sister Trifa - and to you, Ilia."

"Ilia! What are you doing?!"

The chameleon girl looked down on Blake pityingly "I'm sorry it has to be this way Blake, but you and you're family are holding the Faunus back."

"And you think killing me is really for the greater good?"

"No, but getting rid of your family is."

Blake's heart sank "Sienna would never allow this! She respects my father too much!"

Ilia nodded "And that respect is why she hesitates to act as she must. She restrains herself because she fears you're father's disapproval. So for the good of the Faunus as a whole, he must die.

"You wouldn't! You can't! I won't let you!"

"I know. That's why you're being sent to Mistral. To Adam."

"Ilia, Please" Blake pleaded.

"Yuma, with me." She turned to Trifa "Get her to the docs."

As Ilia and Yuma hurried off, Trifa began yanking on the webs holding Blake.

"Let's go trai-ugh!"

Blake felt the webs go slack and turned to see Sun standing over an unconscious Trifa.

She smiled as he cut her loose "Thanks for the backup."

"No problem. You okay?"

"No. You heard Ilia, my family is in danger. Call the police and let's go!"

 **AN: You get the picture, all the Blake scenes from Volume 5 episodes 8-10, until…**

* * *

Blake looked up at her former friend. "Don't get in my way, Ilia."

She began heading towards the door when Ilia leaped down at her. Blake's clone vanished as Ilia struck, and the real Blake moved in from behind. Ilia and her whip blade whirled around to meet her, and she dodged.

"This isn't the way to change things!"

"Why not? It works!"

"NO! It DOESN'T" Blake insisted as she caught Ilia's whip on her blade and began reeling her in. "Fear is just another form of hate! If the only thing that changes is who oppresses who, then people will just keep on hating each other and nothing will ever get better!"

Ilia shot an electric shot through her whip, forcing Blake to drop her sword. Blake switched to her cleaver and began swinging to recover her blade.

"It doesn't matter, because they'll never change no matter what we do!" Ilia insisted "People don't change."

"You know that's not true. Just look at Adam! Look at what he's become!"

Ilia sneered "Maybe you just didn't know him as well as you thought you did. Love has a way of blinding us."

Blake shook her head "No. The darkness was there, but he was never a slave to it like he is now. The Adam I knew would've never ordered you to do this. And the Ilia I knew would've never gone through with it."

"Stop lecturing me!"

Ilia began going through a furious flurry of blows, driving Blake to the defensive.

Suddenly the wall exploded and Corsac came flying through, followed by Ghira Belladonna, who saw Blake's struggle.

"Blake!"

* * *

Ilia could barely think as she crawled away from Ghira and the balcony he'd kept from collapsing onto her.

"Why?"

Fennec gave a vicious battle cry as he charged Ghira; only to miss him as Blake yanked him out of the way, dropping the balcony on the unfortunate fox brother.

"Mom!"

Ilia watched as Blake rushed to her mother. Kali carried Yuma, bound by the chains of her weapon.

Ilia didn't stick around to see Corsac rise to his feet, only to be knocked out once again.

* * *

"Just hold on, Uncle Qrow!"

Jaune looked back at the man in the stretcher he carried "Shouldn't his aura be healing him or something?"

Ren shook his head as he led the group "Aura can replenish fast enough to drive out weaker and slow acting poisons, but if the poison is strong and fast acting then all aura does is slow it down."

"How much farther?" Ruby asked, trying her hardest not to panic.

* * *

"I'm sorry."

Jaune turned to Ruby "Huh?"

Ruby hanged her head "This is all my fault. If I'd been faster, Penny would be alive and Ozpin wouldn't be in your head, or maybe Pyrrha would be alive and she could help you feel better."

Jaune felt a wave of guilt crash over him. "None of that is your fault Ruby. You did everything you could to save them. I could never blame you for that."

"Then why are you so angry at Ozpin? It's not his fault Pyrrha died either."

Jaune took a breath, "He used her, Ruby. She didn't know she was going to be a key to a relic, and he didn't even know what the transfer of power would do to her. He uses people. People who don't know what they're getting into. I'm not even sure he knows what he's doing at times."

He paused "And I'm scared. I'm scared that I'm going to lose myself and turn into him."

Ruby took his hand "I don't want you to turn into him either. I don't want to lose you too. But we don't know if that's what will happen. Ozpin can help us. He can help you be a better leader."

"Ruby…" Jaune hesitated "He was going to sacrifice Ren and Nora to Tyrian."

Ruby looked up in horror.

"He wanted me to grab you and run. Even after you're uncle showed up his plan was to cut and run."

"M-maybe" Ruby stammered, looking for a response "Maybe he thought Tyrian would leave them alone and chase us."

Jaune shook his head "Tyrian would've killed them so they couldn't interfere later. He enjoys killing too much to leave a couple of easy targets get away."

He paused to see if Ozpin would deny it. He didn't.

"He was going to leave them, because you and I are more valuable to him than Ren and Nora."

Tears began to form in his eyes "And I let him. I gave him control knowing that he'd just grab you and run."

Ruby's heart sank further as her friend continued to weep. "I promised Ren that he, Nora, and Pyrrha would all make it to graduation, even if I didn't. And then Pyrrha takes an arrow for me, and I decide to leave Ren and Nora for dead just to save my own skin."

He sank to his knees and began sobbing "I let them down Ruby. I let everyone down."

The sight of her friend on his knees snapped Ruby out of her shock and she embraced him tightly as he wept.

After a few moments she spoke. "You were desperate. And scared. You weren't ready for that kind of impossible decision."

She sniffled through a few tears of her own "None of us were ready for any of this. But whatever Salem's planning, it needs to be stopped. We need to keep moving forward."

Jaune smiled and chuckled softly "You're amazing, you know that? You lost Pyrrha, Penny, you're team, and you're sister. And now you find out that you've got a massive bullseye on your back, but you keep going anyway. You chose to come out here and do something about everything that's wrong in the world."

He stood up and took her hands in his. "That's why we're team RNJR. You give us the strength to follow you."

* * *

PATCH 6 MONTHS AFTER THE BATTLE OF BEACON

"We know your sister's headed to Mistral." Taiyang continued "But something to consider, is that you're sister is fighting a threat much bigger than you. Than any of us really. What will you do once you find her?"

Yang nodded "She needs backup."

"And you've definitely improved these last months." Taiyang nodded "But you're still just one person. You're mother has resources that can help."

He sighed "Unfortunately, she hasn't exactly been willing to share them these last few years. Ozpin, Qrow and I have all tried and failed to get through to her."

Yang cocked her brow "And you think I can?"

"I think someone just as stubborn as her would have as good a chance as any."

Yang shook her head "I need to know where Ruby is. I have to find her."

Tai smiled understandingly "I want to find her too. Which is why…" He moved to the back of the shed and pulled a sheet from his own motorcycle "I'm going to Mistral too."

Weiss cautiously eased her window open. If she was going to leave, it had to be tonight.

"Not going to say goodbye?"

She turned to see Klein smiling sadly in her doorway.

"I'm sorry, but…"

He nodded consolingly "I understand. No one should be a prisoner in their own home."

Weiss smiled and hugged him tightly

"Where will you go?"

"Mistral. The last time I listened in on one of Father's meetings with the general they mentioned that she was stationed there. So that's where I'm headed."

He hanged his head as his eyes turned brown. "I suppose she'd be the only family you have left after tonight."

Weiss hugged him tighter "I'll always have you."

"You most certainly will."

* * *

Sun approached Blake, who surveyed the damage done to her childhood home "Blake?"

"This... is why, Sun. This is why I left them all behind. I hate seeing my friends and family hurt because of me."

"Blake..."

"Shut up! Do you think I like being alone? Every day... every day I think about them! Ruby, Weiss, Yang... they were my friends! I loved them like I never thought I could love anybody. And I hope they hate me for leaving.

Dun shook his head "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do! Everyone thinks they can help me, but they can't. You saw Ilia last night and she's not even the worst! No. No more. They're better off without me. I made my choices and I'll deal with the consequences because they belong to me."

Sun thought for a moment, "You think you're being selfless, but you're not. Since I met you I've been in danger on an almost weekly basis. But I'd do it all again if it meant protecting you. And I can promise Yang would say the same."

Blake looked down in shame.

"You can make your own choices, sure. But you don't get to make ours. When your friends fight for you, it's because we want to. When you're parents start standing up for what's right, it's because they want to. So stop pushing us out! It hurts more than anything the bad guys could ever do to us."

His serious face then turned to an impish grin "But, if it makes you feel any better, the next time I go up against Lizard Girl, it won't be for you – I hate being snuck up on."

Blake chuckled and smiled fondly "My hero."

She paused as a door collapsed behind her and Kali fell into the room.

Ghira held out a pair of scrolls stolen from Corsac and Yuma "Sienna is losing control of Adam. He's planning a full on assault on Haven Academy. If would be the Fall of Beacon all over again."

Blake nodded "Not if we destroy the White Fang once and for all. We'll need a few months to train a militia.

Ghira shook his head "No. We leave immediately, and I won't involve untrained civilians. And we're not going to destroy the White Fang. We're going to take it back."

* * *

As Ren and Nora approached the ruins of Kuroyuri, they could hear sounds of fighting coming from what had once been the town center. Suddenly, a flash of silver light rose from the area. A few moments later, Jaune stumbled out of the center, supporting a weakened Ruby clutching her head, and carrying Qrow over his shoulder.

"We need to get out of here!" he called as the two came forward to help him.

Nora took Ruby from Jaune "What happened?!"

"She used her eyes, but I don't think it was at full strength. That thing looks ancient!"

Ruby shook off Nora "I'm fine, I just needed a minute."

"No." Ren paled and fell to his knees as the monster from his nightmares marched out of the darkness.


	26. No Safe Haven

**AN: Weiss hasn't just been working on her summoning. She's been doing some general training to stay in shape. And again, Whitley has his own goals and understanding of the company. Hopefully he's a little more interesting here. And it was kind of weird for Weiss to have to sneak through the manor, just to accidentally overhear an expository conversation when she could've just gone out that window she broke.**

 **And yeah, I basically just moved the good parts of Blake's arc in Volume 5 to Volume 4, because the whole point of Volume 4 should've been to get everyone to Mistral. And Ilia's not just gonna change sides because Blake batted her eyelashes. She believes in the White Fang. She wants to punish the people who hurt her parents. It's gonna take more than a crush for her to give that up. And the whole Faunus militia thing was stupid, so I'm not doing it. Blake and fam are actually going to try and take back the White Fang, not just kill and replace everyone in it.**

 **And Taiyang is going to Mistral too, for a couple reasons. First, I don't buy a father just hanging back after his youngest child runs off leaving nothing but a note. He knows the hazards of her chosen profession, but he doesn't know who she's with, if she packed proper supplies, or if she even has a plan to get there. Also he really doesn't seem to be doing much of anything in Vale.**

 **Jaune explaining his frustrations with Ozpin and himself, and Ruby comforting him and showing why her optimism is a strength.**

 **There! The Nuckelavee knocked out two people's aura, wiped out entire villages, haunted Ren's nightmares, required actual strategy and teamwork to beat, AND survived Ruby's Silver Eyes. Can we stop acting like it wasn't the most interesting and threatening Grimm we've seen before Volume 6, except maybe for the Grimm Dragon? (And the Goliath's, but only because I made them amazing!) Also yeah, Silver Eyes still leave Ruby temporarily weakened.**

* * *

Jaune watched as his two teammates embraced after the destruction of the Nuckelavee. He hesitated, then prepared to join the two and make his confession.

Suddenly, Ruby's scream came from the alley where Jaune had moved Qrow.

"No, no, NO!"

The three ran to find Ruby clutching her uncle's body. Jaune joined her and leaned in to listen at his mouth. He wasn't breathing.

 _"We may still be able to save him! Do you know CPR?!"_

 _"Vaguely. Walk me through it and make sure I'm doing it right!"_

Jaune sat up and gently grabbed Ruby's shoulders. "I'm going to try and resuscitate him Ruby. I need you to position yourself over his head."

Ruby quickly obeyed his instructions, taking a position at Qrow's head and tilting his headback as Jaune relayed instructions from Ozpin. While Ren and Nora looked on helplessly, they heard a sound overhead. They looked up just in time to see a pair of airships flying overhead.

Nora looked at a building one of her stray shots set fire to during the fight. "They must have seen the smoke!"

"Flag them down!" Jaune called as he opened Qrow's jacket and placed his hands according to Ozpin's instructions.

 _"Thirty compressions at a rate of 100 compressions a minute, then have Ms. Rose give two rescue breaths."_

Jaune took a breath as he prepared _"I won't let her down too."_

"One-" As soon as Jaune made the compression his hands glowed with light, which transferred to Qrow's body, who's eyes flew open as he let out a ragged gasp.

"Whoa!" Jaune shot back as the man laid back down and began wheezing. "What just happened?! I was sure he wasn't breathing!"

 _"Check his aura!"_

Jaune pulled his scroll out and checked it just in time to see a blip of Qrow's aura disappear.

 _"You gave him some of your aura. That must be you're semblance."_

"Alright, let's try it again." Jaune resumed his place at Qrow's chest. He breathed in, then breathed out, gently pushing his hands into Qrow's chest, watching his scroll. Sure enough, Jaune's aura dropped, and Qrow's began to rise.

Ruby looked on as Jaune continued to pass his aura onto Qrow. She checked Jaune's scroll and saw that Qrow's aura would still fall whenever Jaune took a breath Qrow's aura would fall once again. Jaune was battling the poison itself. And Jaune's own aura was already in the red.

Ruby suddenly remembered something Ren told her about the time he and Jaune fought a member of the White Fang. The one Jaune killed.

"Let's try this." Ruby placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder and watched. As Jaune breathed in, a glowing light appeared where Ruby's hand met Jaune's shoulder, and she watched as her aura fell, then Jaune's aura rose. He breathed out, his aura fell, and Qrow's rose.

Ren and Nora arrived with the airship crews a few moments later. Ruby and Jaune both looked exhausted, their aura completely drained, but Qrow was breathing steadily.

* * *

Nora started as Ren took her hand in his. She looked at him and met his smile. Slowly, the two leaned in, and finally shared their first kiss.

* * *

Ghira Belladonna placed a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder as their ship arrived in Anima.

* * *

Jaune finished his confession to Ren and Nora, who both looked at him in shock. After a moment, Ren spoke. "You gave me you're word."

Jaune nodded. Ren stood up, then paused.

"We need to think about this."

He left. Nora gave Jaune's shoulder a quick squeeze, then left the room as well.

Jaune wiped the tears from his eyes. "They deserved to know. Whether they keep following us or not is up to them."

* * *

Yang and Tai's bikes roared across Anima.

They stopped as a sign came into view. One direction pointed to Mistral. The other to Bandit Territory.

"It has been awhile since you're mom and I have spoken. Maybe I can convince her." He turned to his daughter "Which way are you going?"

* * *

Jaune prepared to train in the hotels empty courtyard.

 _"Jaune… may I suggest a compromise?"_ Jaune didn't answer, but he paused in his preparations.

 _"You're families sword is an important part of you and your identity. I was wrong to ask that you put that aside. But I have a fighting style that I've perfected over a couple millennia. I'd really rather I didn't get rusty."_ Jaune nodded, understanding.

 _"So let me train for a couple hours a day, just so I can get used to your build and so I can maintain my skills."_

"Fine."

 _"I know you worry about giving me control, but I promise to relinquish it whenever you request."_

"I said it was fine."

 _"…Really?"_

"We might need you if things get hairy." Jaune acknowledged, grudgingly "You're better than me in a fight, and as long as I'm stuck with you I might as well accept your help when I need it."

Ozpin pause _"…I am sorry. The last thing I wanted was to leave anyone behind but-"_

"Just. Don't." Jaune growled "You got your compromise. Just take it, and shut up."

* * *

"Hey sis, I've been putting off writing this letter, and I'm not even sure if it will reach you, but there's some things I need to say. I want to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea, and after everything I've been through, I can definitely say you were right. It's been hard, on all of us.

Every step we made took us further and further from the things we knew. And every morning we woke up wondering, if just over the next hill would be something good or something terrible.

It's scary not knowing what's going to happen next. And the things we do know now, it almost makes it worse.

You told me once that bad things just happen. You were angry when you said it, and I didn't want to listen.

But you were right, bad things do happen, all the time, every day. Which is why I'm out here, to do whatever I can, wherever I can, and hopefully do some good.

We've all lost something, and I've seen what loss can do to people.

But if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward.

We'd never have a chance to see what beautiful things the future might have waiting for us. We'd never have the strength to change; whether it's ourselves, or the world around us.

And we'd never be there for other people who might one day be lost without us. This is what we were training for, Yang, to be the ones to stand up and do something about all the bad in the world.

Because there are plenty of people out there who are still lost, even if they don't want to admit it.

I know it can feel impossible, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat.

But we have to try, if not for us, then for the people we've already— Then for the people we haven't lost yet.

I miss you so much. I miss Weiss and Blake too. But I think you'd all be proud to know that I made it to Mistral. All of us did, and we even ran into Uncle Qrow along the way.

He's going to take us to see Professor Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven Academy. Now that we've made it across Anima I really think things are gonna start going our way.

Until next time, your loving sister, Ruby Rose."

* * *

 **AN: Jaune's semblance ladies and gentlemen! Revealed when it should've been, and he's not just a buffer/medic. And I bet you guys were a lot more worried about Qrow than you were Weiss. Also Grimm have never sent up enough smoke to be seen from any kind of distance before, so I didn't buy that crap in canon.**

 **Okay, so there was one thing that needed fixing with Ren and Nora's arc in Volume 4.**

 **Jaune's got some shit to make up for next Volume. But he's trying to make the best of an unfavorable situation. And I've been holding off on saying this since chapter 22, since I didn't want to spoil anything, but Jaune is keeping Crocea Mors as his primary weapon. The gun is a sidearm, and Ozpin's cane (and Ozpin himself) is just a backup. I hate writers and fans who think he should replace Crocea Mors to be a better fighter, because again, not everything has to also be a gun, and Crocea Mors in its simplicity is a big part of Jaune's personality and identity as a character. To ditch it is to completely miss the appeal of his character.**

 **And I actually liked Ruby's monologue at the end of Volume 4. It was a nice way to wrap things up, give us a look into Ruby's mind, and even a nice summary of what she went through in Volume 4. That said, it was way too long, and some of the lines were weirdly clunky, so I changed things up. And now it only takes up a third of the chapter! XD And I decided not to interlock it with background events just to make the changes I made more clear.**

 **So that's Volume 4! And take note, I barely touched Yang and Renora's arcs. If I'd gone with the safe option of sticking Ozpin in Qrow instead of Jaune, Team RNJR's arc would've had far fewer changes, and I'd have finished this Volume in four or five chapters instead of six. And even with Whitley challenging Cinder for the "Most Obvious Villain" award, Weiss' arc was still one of, if not the best part of Volume 4.**

 **Oh, and in regards to the location jumps, when you have 4+ main characters, you're going to have 4+ stories happening simultaneously. Distance between those characters doesn't change that. So I'm sorry if the location skips confused any of you… but get over it. I don't think people who say Volume 4 had "pacing issues" know what they're talking about. (Seriously, I think they're just making up BS to make their petty complaints sound smart.)**

 **All this to once again make my point that, CANON VOLUME 4 WAS BETTER THAN CANON VOLUME'S 1-3! So to the guest reviewer from September 22, no, I do not intend to do a rewrite starting from Volume 4, because the overarching plot of those Volumes is fine the way it is. In fact that's when the plot actually begins. Up until Volume 4 we just had a really long inciting incident. Volume 4-6 is the Conviction, Black Swordsman, Falcon of the Millennium Empire, and Fantasia Arcs to Volume 1-3's Golden Age Arc. And just like how you can't actually see the development and struggles of Guts to be a better person just by reading the Golden Age, Team RWBY couldn't properly grow and develop while confined to the walls of Beacon.**

 **Now with all that being said… Buckle up for Volume 5, because other than the beginning and the end (again, the overarching plot) it's gonna be almost unrecognizable. Blake's gonna actually spend some time in Mistral, the heroes are actually going to do things, and Adam's gonna be an actual person.**


	27. Welcome to Haven

"The City of Mistral…"

Nora groaned dramatically "It's about time!"

Ruby nodded "I can't believe it took eight months, even by foot."

"Trust me" Qrow reassured his niece "The experience you kids gained will be worth it."

Jaune smiled softly but hopefully "Here's hoping."

Qrow grinned impishly "hey, at the end of the day, only one of us almost died. I don't know what you kids are complaining about."

Jaune and Ruby gave strained chuckles while Ren avoided looking at Jaune. Nora gave his hand a quick squeeze and he smiled softly at his girlfriend.

"So" Jaune interjected, anxious to change the subject "How much farther to Haven Academy?"

"Almost there, but I imagine you kids haven't gotten a good look at the place since arriving here and being cooped up in that hotel, so I thought we'd take the scenic route."

* * *

The timid man gave a welcoming smile to Team RNJR "Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned."

Ruby smiled back "Yes sir! We're team RNJR!"

"A pleasure to meet you all, Leonardo Lionheart, at you're service. I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but—

 _"What?!"_

Qrow voiced Ozpin's thoughts "What? Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?!"

 _"Somethings not right. Don't let Qrow tell him about me!"_

"Qrow, the children."

"Already know." Qrow began to turn towards Jaune "In fact-"

Jaune quickly interrupted him "Qrow told us everything himself." His eyes met Qrow's in a quick glare and shake of his head.

"…Yeah, I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?

* * *

Sienna Khan looked down at her protégé "I was one of the first to suggest violence where violence was necessary. Peace bred complacency and acceptance of our place in the world. I will not allow humanity to push us down without pushing them back. But the destruction of the Huntsman Academies crosses a line! The loss of the CCT has brought global communication to a crawl! And the Faunus population is more of a target now than ever before! You have justified humanity's campaign against us, and for what?! Empty promises from a group of humans? Humans we still know nothing about, and come and go as they please! These are not examples of strength, Adam. They are examples of your talents being diminished by shortsightedness!"

Adam frowned "The organization that made the Fall of Beacon possible wasn't just comprised of humans."

He looked back as the door to the chamber opened and Tyrian Callows, prosthetic tail and all entered. "Pleasure to see you again, General Khan."

Sienna shifted uncomfortably in her throne "Its High Leader Khan now, Callows."

"Really? Because according to young Adam here, you still can't make a single decision without first seeking advice from you're predecessor."

Adam growled as Sienna shot a glare at him "I never said that!"

"But it's what you and everyone else is thinking." Tyrian smirked "Despite seizing control of the White Fang, and turning it in a new direction, you still fear the disapproval of you're old comrade in arms."

Sienna glared daggers at the man "I respect Ghira Belladonna and his contribution to the cause of Faunus rights. I even respect his efforts to resolve things peacefully. But he has no bearing or control over my decisions as High Leader of the White Fang. He is no longer a concern of this organization."

Tyrian's grin widened as the entrance to the chamber opened again, and Ghira Belladonna entered.

"Prove it."

* * *

"There was nothing to check in about before the fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos! Vale wasn't the only Kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house in every Kingdom saw that girl, or robot, start running amock, saw monsters crawling over the city, Atlesian Knights attacking citizens... and then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us. Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, you know, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great Huntsmen, teachers from this very institution. And it's only gotten worse."

"What do you mean?"

"We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo, now it's the closing of borders. I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more unfortunate tendencies. And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is."

Qrow interjected, "All the more reason we need the Huntsmen and Huntresses here!"

Ruby interrupted, trying to calm things down. "Okay! Okay. Things are bad; they're bad. But we can figure this out. What happened to the Spring Maiden?"

Lionheart sighed sadly "She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She... ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now."

"I... know." Qrow hesitated as he spoke up "At least... I have a pretty good idea."

Lionheart looked up eagerly "Are you serious?"

"It's not exactly good news."

Lionheart seized his shoulder excitedly "What are you talking about? This is incredible news! After all these years! Where?!"

Qrow sighed "I did some digging around. Looks like, after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe."

Lionheart's excitement evaporated almost instantly "Raven."

Jaune looked to Ruby as she gasped "Yang's mom?"

Qrow nodded as he placed his scroll on Lionheart's desk, pulling up a map of Anima, with an area about 20 miles outside of Mistral highlighted "That's right. That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it only made things easier."

Lionheart nodded and smiles "Well, Qrow, I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks."

"A few weeks?"

"That's right."

Qrow shook his head "Leo, maybe you didn't hear me. My sister has the Spring Maiden, and I know where she is. We need to go, as soon as possible!"

Lionheart glared back, "And perhaps you didn't hear me. This Kingdom is in shambles. "As soon as possible" does not mean tomorrow. It means, as soon as I can convince the council that I need Huntsmen more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon."

"Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained Huntsmen and these kids aren't exactly pushovers."

Nora seemed to be growing more excited "Yeah!"

Ren interrupted her "Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?"

Lionheart looked at Ren. "Doubtful. Raven and Ozpin had a falling out years ago. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if she joined forces with Salem one of these days, assuming she hasn't already."

"No way" Qrow interjected "Raven may hate Ozpin, but she knows Salem can't be trusted."

He turned to Ren "but you've got a point. Raven would be a useful ally to have, not just because of the Spring Maiden."

 _"And if thinks I'm out of the picture, she may be more willing to join up."_

Jaune shifted uncomfortably at that thought _"I feel like that could go very wrong for me if she finds out I'm deceiving her."_

Lionheart spoke up "You and Taiyang have been trying to get through to Raven for over a decade now. What makes you think she'll change her mind now?"

Qrow smiled more confidently, "Because the one thing Raven values above all else, is strength. More than her hatred for Oz, more than her fear of Salem, she wants to be strong, and surrounds herself with strength. She's not content to run and hide, otherwise she wouldn't have recruited the Spring Maiden. If we go in with a show of strength, we can win her over to our side."

Lionheart shook his head "Strength we don't currently have, Qrow. You and your sister are evenly matched. And I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I won't be enough to impress an entire bandit tribe. We need the manpower to prove out strength, and prove that Raven has everything to gain by giving her aid."

* * *

"You four head back to the house. I need a drink."

As he strolled off, Jaune leaned into Ruby conspiratorially. "We're not heading back to the house are we?"

"Nope."

The pair began heading towards Haven's courtyard as Ren and Nora glanced at one another.

"Where are you guys going?" Ren called.

Jaune turned back "We didn't come all this way to sit on our hands. There's a board out front that lists all the huntsman in the kingdom and which ones are off duty. We'll start recruiting now and be out of here within the week."

* * *

Team RNJR felt their hearts sink further as they looked up at the board.

Every huntsman on the board was either on a mission, KIA, or MIA.

 _"Something is very wrong here."_

"Lionheart made it sound like they were spread thin." Ren noted "But this is worse than I thought."

Jaune gestured "Look how recent some of these KIA dates are. These didn't just happen eight months ago."

"I've got it!" Ruby put a fist in her hand, even more determined "Qrow said we need a show of strength! That doesn't necessarily mean a show of numbers!"

* * *

 **AN: Thanks for reading, please R &R, and if you want to read something different, check out the oneshot I put out yesterday, Everyman.**


End file.
